Backgrounds

A character gains much from their Home World, Career, and Role, and they carry a part of their past with them in the form of their Memento. Back-
grounds are certain experiences and aspects of a character’s past that have had an impact on them, and affect them to this day. This could be either
a traumatic and terrible experience, or a continuing threat, such as being hunted by those he wronged in the past. Not all Backgrounds are traumatic
or negative, but often it is such terrible experiences that leave the most prominent of scars on one’s being, real or incorporeal. Backgrounds are not
mandatory, but they do help flesh out a character’s life story, and many do provide discounts on Skills and Talents. A character may only have up to 3
different Background options, and each Background option may only be taken once.
Archeotechnologist
Cost: 750xp
Characteristics: +3 Int -or- Per
Skills: Forbidden Lore (Archeotech)
Special: Choose 1 item that the character starts with, and apply one Mir-
acle of the Dark Age effect (see Section 5.11 “Archaeotech”)
Ancient technology, known as “archeotech,” has always fascinated you
ever since you first laid eyes on a piece of some hallowed, mysterious
relic. You wondered why the people that made it no longer can, and you
are determined to find more. You may be an Explorator of the Mechani-
cus, for whom finding such items is a holy quest, or simply an enthusias-
tic amateur. However, whether you travel to the dig sites of Mechanicus
Explorators, or manage to have a wealthy patron sponsor a dig of your
own, you know that eventually more will be unearthed. You scour auc-
tion houses and deal with the great Commercias of Noble Houses in an
effort to buy, trade, or even steal the objects of your desire. Your knowl-
edge of such devices is as great as your desire to find more.
Beyond the Pale
Cost: 100xp
Skills: Forbidden Lore (Any Two)
Special: +1d5 Corruption Points, +1d5 Insanity Points
You have always been an explorer, travelling to places beyond the edges
of the map. This time, however, you may have gone too far. You wit-
nessed something that man was not meant to see and came back changed
as a result. Perhaps you somehow survived a warp storm, or maybe you
were pulled into some other part of the galaxy where man has yet to set
foot. Regardless, the experience has changed you and your perceptions—
perhaps not for the better.
Blessed Scars
Cost: 100xp
Characteristics: +5 Fate
Talents: Pity The Weak
Special: Gain one Poor Craftsmanship bionic limb (you may spend
200 xp to upgrade it to Common Craftsmanship or a total of 300 xp to
upgrade it to Good Craftsmanship).
You have sacrificed before and have the scars to prove it. The limb you
lost was a lesson, and also a challenge. First to teach you what pain is,
and secondly to show Him on Terra your meddle. You do not regret
the crippling injury, only that it briefly halted your service while you
recuperated from the injury and installation of the bionic limb. Even
should you lose further parts of your body you know, deep down, that the
God-Emperor will surely not find you lacking, no matter how ragged you
are worn by the whims of fate and enemy machinations.
Born to Lead
Cost: 200xp
Characteristics: +3 Int -or- Fel, -3 T
Skills: Command, Linguistics (Choose One), Scholastic Lore (Bureau-
cracy, Imperial Creed, Judgement -or- Tactica Imperialis)
With status comes responsibility, though some of high birth may dispute
it. To be born above others is to lead them, and your life has been
directed to that end for as long as you can remember. All branches and
departments of the Adeptus Terra require those who can command others
with a clear head and an iron will, and your adult life has been spent
in one of those departments, be it the Imperial Guard, the Ministorum,
the Administratum or something else besides. With this life comes the
resolve and dedication of those with power earned, and the confidence
to lead without doubt or hesitation. Men and women such as you are a
valuable asset to the Imperium, and those who thrive in their duties are
often well-rewarded.
Bounty Hunter
Cost: 250xp
Characteristics: +5 Per, +3 Wp
Skills: Inquiry, Survival
Fugitives can be found all throughout Imperial society. Though the
Imperium of Man encompasses the galaxy, the unfortunate truth is that
there are places beyond its reach; some lie beyond its borders, and some
are simply places where the arbitrators of the Adeptus Arbites cannot
or will not go. Frontier worlds at the edge of Imperial space and even
worlds beyond the Halo Stars are excellent hiding places for wanted men
and women to flee. Sometimes an individual or organization has a rogue
agent on its hands and doesn’t wish to concern the Adeptus Arbites or
other Imperial Adepta with its problems. This is where a bounty hunter
comes in. These hardened men and women occupy a unique position
within Imperial society. On one hand, they are sorely needed to help
maintain justice; on the other hand, they are reviled and despised—many
are seen as nothing more than thugs-for-hire. Whatever the case may be,
once they acquire a Writ of Capture, they are free to pursue their bounty
within the manner dictated by the warrant.
Calamity
Cost: 0xp
Characteristics: +3 Wp, -5 Fate
Talents: Combat Sense, Hardy -or- Litany Against Fear
Special: -5 Influence -or- -1 Profit Factor
When reaching out beyond the relative safety of the Imperium, one of
the great, often underestimated, dangers is disaster, whether it affects
an isolated colony outpost or affects a star vessel suddenly robbed of
its supplies by circumstances or sabotage. Famine, plague, and other
unlooked-for disasters kill the weak, can make death a mercy, and often
destroy the thin veneer of civilisation worn by many, revealing both the
worst and best in humanity. You have seen all this and more, and perhaps
were forced into desperate measures in order to survive or remain true
to your honour. Regardless, you hold no illusions about what others are
capable of in extremis and have learned the hard way that sometimes a
bolt shell is worth a Lord Commander’s ransom and that a starving man
cannot eat gold, no matter how much he has grasped.

30 2.1 Character Generation Options

 Background Options
Call to War
Cost: 200xp
Characteristics: +5 WS -or- BS
Talents: Hatred (Choose One), Peer (Munitorum)
Special: +1d10 Insanity Points
The Imperium called on you to help fight its wars. You have trained with
and fought beside the best, and you have the scars to prove it. You spent
a long time training to be the Emperor’s Hammer and learned a number
of useful skills and tactics. Perhaps you faced off against Eldar corsairs,
or maybe you hunted down the greenskin Orks, perhaps you even battled
against some other foe. Whoever the enemy was, you not only fought
against them, but learned a number of their weaknesses as well. Though
you may have a different life now, you have not forgotten the basics that
you have learned as you head out into the unknown of the void.
Chasing the Enemy
Cost: 200xp
Characteristics: +3 Int -or- Wp
Talents: Hatred (Choose One)
You had the enemy square in your sights, but before you
could finish the job, the coward ran. This may have been a
space battle where massive hulks burned in the blackness of
the void, or it could have been on the field of some unknown
planet where your quarry fled. However he escaped, you
have vowed to hunt him to the ends of the cosmos—and you
won’t return until you have proof of his demise. Your chase
has led you across the sectors of the Imperium, and across
countless worlds in search of your foe. During the chase you
have learned much about your enemy: where he sleeps, what
he wears, what he eats, how he moves. Unfortunately, he
manages to stay one step ahead of you; taunting you to move
ever onwards, begging you to find him and eradicate him
from existence.
Child of Creed
Cost: 0xp
Characteristics: +3 Wp -or- Fel, -3WS
Talents: Litany Against Fear
It was not until comparatively late in your youth that you set foot in a
room in which the stern gaze of the God-Emperor was absent, and during
your impressionable years, you were shielded by the enfolding arms of
the Ministorum from much of the hardship and uncertainty so many must
endure. The unyielding visage of His statues was as much a part of your
upbringing as the zealous, pure faith of those closest to you. Scripture,
ritual, lessons, and priestly exhortations fill your memories, rising un-
bidden in every quiet moment—as though the aged, white-haired clerics
who taught you still remain by your shoulder in spirit, jealously guarding
over your soul. All men hear the God-Emperor’s holy words if they are
born under His rule, but you heard more than most before even reaching
adulthood.
2.1 Character Generation Options
Contaminated Environs
Cost: 100xp
Characteristics: +3 T -or- Wp, -3 Fel
Talents: Peer (Mutants), Resistance (Toxins -or- Radiation)
Special: For an additional 100xp, the character may roll once on the
Minor Mutations Table
The industry of man leaves entire worlds choking on acrid fumes and
drowning in noxious effluvia. On innumerable worlds, and hive worlds
in particular, chemicals flood from manufactoriums, research stations,
starports, and all manner of other locations, leaving the world poisoned.
Such places are toxic to human life, yet humans may still exist there,
the dregs of society forced into the most inhospitable places imaginable.
Amidst polluted water and foul vapours, these people endure horrific
lives, and as generations pass the poisons that suffuse their erstwhile
homes taint their very nature, scarring their genes and rendering their
very humanity a flawed and deformed thing. You may bear this contami-
nation openly, your form twisted and mutated, or you may simply appear
unhealthy.
Creed
Cost: 300xp
Skills: Charm, Scholastic Lore (Imperial Creed)
Talents: Hatred (Choose One), Inspire Wrath
Faith is your shield and your sword, it is the strength in your muscles
and the life in your veins, and the power that drives you ever onwards.
While stars exist beyond the reaches of the Emperor’s light, there can be
no rest, for it is Mankind’s destiny to rule the stars and you will permit
no exception to that. You look with scorn upon those who crave material
things, for their deeds are tainted by their impure desires, no matter how
great those deeds may be. If you seek any remembrance or legacy of
your own, it is as an implement of the Emperor’s will, the blade in His
right hand and the mouthpiece for His voice. You seek to inspire and
rally others to your cause, to instil fervour and zeal and drive your fellow
man to righteousness.
Dark Encounter
Cost: 100xp
Skills: Forbidden Lore (Any)
Talents: Dark Soul
Special: +1d10 Insanity Points
Starport taverns and station galleys are filled with travellers, wanderers,
and old voidfarers. Sooner or later, when the lumen globes have dimmed,
these folk will tell of the many strange legends they have heard. They tell
of hell-hulks crewed by the lost and warp storms that howl with mocking
voices, of the things that claw and scratch at the hull waiting for the mer-
est flicker of the Geller Field for the warp to pour in and devour all, and
of horrifying xenos encounters and voyages of the damned. But you have
no taste for such stories, because you know the truth—you have lived
them. You have stared into the eyes of the abyss and lived. You have seen
the dead walk and the bulkheads bleed. These experiences have marked
you, opening your eyes to the darkness that hides beneath the surface
of things, and whether you have recoiled in dread or been drawn on in
fascination is a truth you keep to yourself.
31
 Background Options
Dark Secret
Cost: 400xp
Special: The character gains 20 Insanity Points or Corruption Points and
the Unnatural Characteristic (1) Trait (choosing one Characteristic to
apply this Trait to)
There’s a secret you carry with you that, if known by others, could
destroy you. Perhaps you were the unfortunate victim of a possession,
and even though you fought the entity off its mark is forever upon you.
Or maybe you carry within you some xenos artefact, such as a Yu’vath
device, and you seek a way to rid yourself of it. Whatever the secret is,
you’re sure it will devastate you and your friends if found out. There are
no lengths you would not go to prevent that discovery.
Dark Visionary
Cost: 0xp
Skills: Forbidden Lore (Choose One)
Talents: Dark Soul
Special: 1d5+5 Corruption Points and 1d5+5 Insanity Points
The Imperium survives and prospers in no small part due to the narrow-
ness of its vision, and by the strictures imposed by high walls, harsh
order, and obedient faith on worlds where no man looks beyond the
simple rotes taught in childhood. A rebellious mind such as yours could
not be so easily constrained, however, but you have had to pay a price for
your freedom and have learned those high walls are there for a reason.
You were a visionary in search of strange knowledge, seeking answers
to questions those around you never thought to ask, answers that proved
dark indeed.
Decadent
Cost: 200xp
Characteristics: +3 Wp
Skills: Charm
Talents: Decadence
Special: +1d5+5 Corruption Points
You have lived your entire life in the lap of luxury. You demand the
finest, no matter the cost in terms of money or lives. Fine foods, fine
drink, and fine clothes are your hallmarks, and you see no reason to have
anything less. You might be despised by your family or lauded for your
passions. Your lifestyle is envied by many and reviled by the rest, but
you dismiss their opinions as nothing more than the petty sniping of the
bitter and envious.
Duty to Humanity
Cost: 0xp
Characteristics: +5 Int -or- Fel
Special: -5 Influence -or- -1 Profit Factor
The uncountable masses of Mankind are threatened from evey angle
possible, and you know this. You have done everything you can to aid
those in need and sacrificed many personal assets, contacts, wealth, and
much time to keep the constituent peoples of the Imperium alive, even
when other routes would be more expedient. Few have respect for such
humanitarian notions, but you know that without people such as yourself
Man would not continue to exist as they do, regressing to pitiable state.
32 2.1 Character Generation Options
Duty to the Imperium
Cost: 100xp
Characteristics: +3 Wp
Talents: Litany Against Fear
To labour is human, to serve divine. You find strength in duty and eagerly
embrace the strictures and dictates such duty requires. To see obligations
fulfilled and assume a role in the vast structure of the Imperium is your
greatest desire. So strong is that desire you will stop at nothing to see it
done, and fear only failure. To others, your rigid discipline and obsessive
focus may seem disquieting, but you do not share their doubts. You pity
them, for they will never know the contentment and satisfaction your
purpose gives you, nor the purity of life your conviction provides.
Duty to the Throne
Cost: 200xp
Characteristics: +3 Wp, +5 Inf
Talents: Armour of Contempt
You have served the highest cause before, in the company of the ultimate
authority of the Imperium, the Inquisition. Your time with them may
have been short, or it may continue to this day, but it has ultimately made
you more aware of the danger the Imperium faces from within, without,
and beyond. Even a short stint of service is enough to open one’s eyes
and show them the true vastness of evil throughout the galaxy, and to
harden their hearts against such terror. Such encounters will also, inevita-
bly, leave mental and spiritual scars of their own, ones which plague you
to this very day.
Duty to your Dynasty
Cost: 0xp
Talents: Rival (Choose 1 Other Dynasty/House)
Special: +5 Influence -or- +1 Profit Factor
Little else in your life has ever meant as much to you as your unyielding
respect for the dynasty you serve. Whether it is a Rogue Trader House,
a planetary governor’s family, or another of the myriad great houses of
the Imperium you feel little else but pride when you don the garb that
denotes you as a member of this influential line. It is likely you were cho-
sen to serve for such uncompromising loyalty, though being born into the
actual line itself is also a potential avenue of ingress. Regardless of origin
you are an anchor of stability of support and steadiness for this dynasty,
as your support is always to be found for it’s endeavours.
Endurance
Cost: 100xp
Talents: Sound Constitution (4)
You seek to endure and, in enduring, grow stronger. You welcome oppo-
sition, risk, setbacks, injury, and pain as old friends—for these trials are
but a stairway by which you will climb to greater heights. Endure, and
you shall be made mighty in the God-Emperor’s eyes, and a power of the
Imperium. The virtuous welcome the storm, the Imperial Creed teaches,
for its fury guides humanity upon the path to strength in body and soul.
Just as a mighty tree sheds its weakest limbs before the tearing winds,
and stands the greater for it, so too is humanity made sturdy by struggle
and want. Others would put it more simply: the weak die and only the
strong remain, and you choose to be the latter.
 Background Options
Enemy in Ascendance
Cost: 0xp
Characteristics: +3 Per, +5 Inf
Talents: Enemy (Choose One), Hunted (Same as Enemy), Paranoia
You have made a number of enemies in your life, as does anyone with
power and the will to use it. However, some of your foes are particular-
ly threatening. Perhaps they know something of your past you would
prefer not to have revealed, or perhaps their power eclipses your own
and they seek to eliminate a potential rival, or perhaps you have crossed
them one too many times and they now seek every means possible to
cast you down. Whether voluntary or not, you have fled the Imperium to
escape them, entering exile in the unknown darkness. Your time beyond
civilisation may be one of preparation, steeling yourself for the day you
must return, or you may simply believe that you can never truly go back.
In either case, you are constantly watching your back for the enemy who
drove you to this.
Fallen Dynasty
Cost: 400xp
Characteristics: +5 Fate
Special: +10 Influence -or- +2 Profit Factor
The player and the GM should work out the details of this lost resource
so it can be worked into the campaign story, as needed. While normally
characters withoiut a Profit Factor cannot gain one from Background
Options, this Background does allo w a character to have a Profit Factor
of 2 at the beginning of the campaign, to represent the last dregs of their
family’s once great coffers.
Your family’s greatness is a distant memory, their standing in high Impe-
rial society long gone. And yet, something still remains. Long forgotten
properties, in the void and upon planetary bodies, caches of resources,
and other things of worth with your family’s name are yet undiscovered,
awaiting a rightful inheritor to reclaim them.
False-Man
Cost: 300xp
Characteristics: +3 to any two, -3 from any one, -5 Fate
Talents: Ambidextrous, Autosanguine, Chem-Geld
Special: +2d10 Insanity Points
Your life is not your own. It is the product of an arcane science only bare-
ly understood by those that wield it, who seek to emulate the Emperor’s
mastery of genetics. Your form and your nature are manufactured, the
result of tampering by those who seek to make men more able to perform
certain tasks. You are a rarity in the Imperium and beyond it, a human
being wrought by artificial means, and whether you embrace the purpose
of your creation or deny it, the fact that you may not be entirely human is
still weighs heavily upon you. One thing you do know is that you are still
human in part—their science cannot create new life, it can only change
that which already exists. However small a comfort that may be, even if
it provides only solace through hatred, it is something.
Fated for Greatness
Cost: 0xp
Characteristics: +5 Fate
Special: +10 Insanity Points
For as long as you can recall, you have been certain that a grand destiny
awaits you. The God-Emperor must watch over you, for sometimes
events have unfolded in exactly the right manner to carry your plans
forward, and at others times, the actions needed to set you upon the way
ahead were quickly apparent. You are sure that you will be the greatest of
your bloodline, whose name will echo down through the ages, no matter
what the cost.
2.1 Character Generation Options
Favoured of the Faithful
Cost: 100xp
Characteristics: +5 Fel, +5 Fate, -5 T
Talents: Peer Ecclesiarchy
Ever since your youth you have been earmarked by the higher ups in the
Ecclesiarchy. Even as a child you were notably pious, pure of heart, and
strong of purpose, and you have carried on those traits to your adulthood,
and kept the favour of your betters all the while. Your position in the
Ecclesiarchy is most certainly an ascendant one, and will likely see you
gain acclaim, so long as you live to see it handed to you.
Forbidden Knowledge
Cost: 200xp
Skills: Common Lore (Choose One) -or- Scholastic Lore (Choose One),
Forbidden Lore (Choose One)
Talents: Paranoia, Hunted (By whom the knowledge was taken from)
You are drawn to the esoteric like a moth to a flame. Perhaps your study
was intentional; you found a mysterious tome or other work. Maybe it
was accidental. It could have been spoken to you through the cracked lips
of a dying man, or perhaps you spied a document that should have been
sealed and the knowledge burned itself into your brain. Whatever the
reason or circumstance, you bear forbidden knowledge. It might be part
of the name of a daemon, or the location of some barbaric fane where hu-
man sacrifices are made in the name of the Ruinous Powers. It might also
be something a bit moremundane, such as a proscribed experiment being
conducted by a Magus-Biologis of the Adeptus Mechanicus. Whatever it
is, you’re sure that if the powers that be were to learn that you know, they
would stop at nothing to purge it from you.
Fortune
Cost: 100xp
Characteristics:
Skills:
Talents:
Special: +10 Influence -or- +2 Profit Factor
You seek wealth beyond measure, countless Thrones with which to
purchase the fulfilment of your every desire. You understand that all
things begin with the clink, clink, clink of worn Throne coins dropped
upon a fine y crafted counter. That is the sound that carries into the hearts
of men and compels them to your will. Perhaps your ultimate goals are
admirable, perhaps they are despicable—wealth cares not, and wealth
causes others to care not. So it is that everything you have ever wanted,
everything you could ever need, all comes down to Thrones. You must
have them and the great wealth they represent. That is your quest, and
you can only hope that you are still the same person at the end of it,
having evaded the myriad ways in which single-minded fortuneseeking
twists the mind and the soul.
Free-Thinker
Cost: 0xp
Characteristics: +5 Int -or- Per, -3 Wp
Talents: Enemy (Ecclesiarchy)
You have questioned the rigid and dogmatic methodology of the Eccle-
siarchy and Administratum, and found no easy answers to the questions
you ask, only reprimands, threats, and occasionally fervorous outbursts
levelled at your curiosity. You doubt the rigid structure of the Imperium’s
institutions, finding it oppressive at best, and you’re determined to find
your own way around it. The galaxy is a vast place, and surely the an-
swers you crave are out there, upon the worlds of Man or beyond them.
33
 Background Options
Haunted by Thy Own Sins
Cost: 300xp
Characteristics:
Skills: Forbidden Lore (Choose One)
Talents: Dark Soul, Frenzy, Flagellant
Special: +10 Corruption Points
Blessed are the repentant, for they have seen the face of damnation and
yet return to His light. You know you have done wrong, but in sacrifice
you can be redeemed, and that distant chance gives you the courage to
achieve anything. The sins of your past give you insight into corrup-
tion, and with that hard-won knowledge you can strike out against it, to
cleanse your soul with the deaths of the enemies of Man. Should your
life be the cost of your success, then so be it, for it is a far better thing to
die a martyr than live on as a monster.
High Vendetta
Cost: 100xp
Talents: Die Hard -or- Paranoia, Iron Discipline -or- Radiant Presence
Honour, friendship, and loyalty are not mere empty words or worthy
ideals to you, they are tools for survival. Without your ship, your crew-
mates, and your allies, you are alone in the cold darkness of space and
prey to enemies and rivals without number; with them, you are protected,
you have a home and backup when others seek your life. This knowledge
was brought home to you when you and your allies were caught up in a
deadly vendetta with another faction, a murderous feud that consumed
your life and sent friends to their graves. Whether your enemies were a
rival crew, noble house, cult, cartel, or outlaw gang, blood was spilt and
vengeance taken. Regardless of whether your side was victorious, or was
left tasting bitter defeat in the end, what matters was that you fought and
would to so again.
Hunted
Cost: 150xp
Talents: Combat Sense -or- Lightning Reflexes, Hunted (Choose One),
Paranoia
Something stalks you: xenos, bounty hunter, or something from beyond.
You know it sits in the shadows, waiting for you to lower your guard so
that in a flash of blood and pain your life will be snuffed out of existence.
Whoever this hunter is, it is relentless. So far, you have managed to stay
one step ahead of it. There have been too many sleepless nights as you
lie awake wondering if the noise you hear outside is your assailant...or
something else. Even though your cunning has kept you alive, you know,
however, that the time will come when you two will meet face-to-face
and that time you won’t escape.
Insane
Cost: 0xp
Characteristics: +3 T, -3 Fel -or- Fate
Skills:
Talents: Peer (The Insane)
Special: +20 Insanity Points
You are mad. What brought you to such a state, none other than yourself
likely know. This madness is a blight on you, and not something you can
ever escape from, it dogs your everyday from when you wake up to when
you fall asleep at night, even visiting you in your dreams sometimes. It
is no easy thing to live with, and may well get worse yet, but for now, at
least it can be managed, somewhat.
34 2.1 Character Generation Options
Judged and Found Wanting
Cost: 0xp
Characteristics: -5 T -or- Fel
Skills: Deceive, Stealth
Special: You gain one Poor Craftsmanship bionic limb (you may spend
200 xp to upgrade it to Common Craftsmanship or a total of 300 xp to
upgrade it to Good Craftsmanship).
You have failed before and have the scars to prove it. Losing your limb
was an ultimate sign of failure, and how badly you were found wanting.
The unforgettable pain, and the dull ache that haunts you even now,
reminds you of your lacking mettle and how much you have to atone for.
Whether it was lost on the field of battle, in a brief moment of distrac-
tion, or lost by persecution of more unsavoury behaviour, it will remind
you for the rest of your life not to repeat such mistakes.
Know Thy Foe
Cost: 200xp
Characteristics:
Skills: Forbidden Lore (Any)
Talents: Preferred Enemy (Same as Forbidden Lore)
Special: The player may purchase one more Rank of any Forbidden Lore
for an additional 100xp
You consider knowledge of your enemies to be the best defence against
their machinations and assaults, and work hard to collect any insight you
might find about those who might threaten you. Fear of encountering
a foe about which you know nothing drives you to seek out the most
obscure lore; even that which seems composed entirely of unfounded
rumour and hearsay is not beneath your attention. You suffer with the
burden of your knowledge, for you are never truly free of that fear of
the unknown and your obsession means that you shall never again find
solace in ignorance as so many in the Imperium can.
Knowledge is Life, Life is Knowledge
Cost: 200xp
Skills: Scholastic Lore (Any Three)
Talents: Total Recall
Lore is all-important to you; it is your purpose and your reason, it is your
goal and your desire, and it is the one thing above all else that you aspire
to possess. There is no ulterior motive to your drive to understand, no
hidden purpose to give that curiosity a focus. You simply crave knowl-
edge with every fibre of your being, and you cannot stand the idea of
not knowing or not understanding something. Though new insights and
revelations cannot hope to sate this bottomless urge, new understanding
brings with it new power and new means with which to find yet more
knowledge. Each answer leads to still more questions, and every new
vista promises a variety of secrets yet to be uncovered.
Knowledge is Power, Guard it Well
Cost: 300xp
Characteristics: +3 Int -or- Per
Skills: Common Lore (Any Three), Scholastic Lore (Any Two)
Talents: Foresight
There is no worth in knowledge if everyone possesses it; if knowledge is
commonplace, then it bestows no power upon its keepers. You under-
stand this better than most, because you possess much knowledge. It is
a tool to greater power, a means of fulfilling other ambitions, bringing
ruin to enemies and elevating allies, and in all ways an advantage over
those less knowledgeable. You gather information to wield in these ways,
bolstering your arsenal of insights with every passing day and every new
encounter. Few are those who think to cross you, for you are knowledge-
able and willing to use that to your advantage in all things.
 Background Options
Lost Planet
Cost: 100xp
Characteristics: +3 Per
Skills: Navigation (Surface -or- Interior -or- (Stellar)
Special: +1d5 Corruption Points, +1d5 Insanity Points
The universe is a mysterious place full of darkness and danger. There are
forces at work that are beyond human comprehension and occasionally
whole worlds are under such sway. You were a part of a force that dis-
covered such a planet and travelled to it. You brought back the treasures
and secrets of this world, which you claimed in the name of your family
or patron. There are mysteries still to be unearthed upon this world, and it
could be that the planet harbours something dark.
Loyalty
Cost: 300xp
Characteristics: +3Wp -or- Fel
Skills: Trade (Choose One)
Special: Gain a Contact (representing the character’s home, tribe, or
people) who are a Group, Offer Favours, and are Trusted. The player may
invest more xp into adding more benefits to these allies as is appropriate.
Your allegiance to your home, family, and ruler are absolute. To you
this is an indisputable truth, a notion so strong that it provides a sense of
purpose great enough to brave any risk. There may be disputes between
different parts of the community, but such things are all in the family, not
for the concern of outsiders. You would do anything for your patriarch,
and will go anywhere he wills. You burn with pride at the sight of your
homeland and at the triumphs of your people, and to shame or mock ei-
ther is the gravest mistake an outsider can make. You care not where you
go or what you face, so long as you do it for your people and your home,
to better the lives of men and women who you trust without hesitation.
Mutant
Cost: 0xp
Special: You must roll once on Minor Mutations. You may spend 200 xp
to select one result from the table (aside from the Blessed by the Gods
result). You may additionally spend 500xp to roll on the Major Mutations
table, gaining both a Minor and Major Mutation.
You are tainted. Whether by the carress of the Warp, the taint of your
soul made bare, or the mutagenic effects of toxins and pollutants the very
substance of your body has been twisted and made inhuman. It could
be a minor mutation, one which could be hidden or explained away as
sickness, or something far worse. At any rate most will go to any length
to hide or else excise this hideous aberration, as the alternative is usually
death.
New Horizons
Cost: 100xp
Skills: Navigate (Stellar), Scholastic Lore (Astromancy) -or- Trade
(Explorator)
To see the stars, the suns and the moons of worlds already claimed by
Man is of no interest to you. Only the hidden promise of strange and
distant worlds entices you, and you desire only to push on and see as
many new horizons and unique skies as possible. To mark unknown
worlds with your presence and see things the likes of which no man has
ever seen before is what drives you, and such a desire leaves no time for
laxity, nor any room for complacency. You must go forward, for there is
nothing unseen in your wake.
2.1 Character Generation Options
No Joy Unexplored
Cost: 200xp
Characteristics: +5 T -or- Fel, -3 Wp
Talents: Decadence
Special: +1d5 Corruption Points
Whatever the pleasure, you have indulged in it. Your hedonism de-
fines you, your reputation is dark and sordid, and you are not sated yet.
Amongst the unknown must be sights and sounds and experiences as yet
undreamt of by mankind, and you cannot stop until you have found and
sampled them! The world around you grows dull and grey as you begin
toexhaust the possibilities of pleasure, and even the strictest taboos of
your culture are becoming increasingly tempting in your desperate search
for something new to satisfy you. Whatever you find, you may not escape
it unscathed —or unchanged.
One Amongst Untold Billions
Cost: 200xp
Characteristics: +3 Int -or- Per, -3 St
Skills: Common Lore (Choose One), Trade (Choose One)
Talents: Paranoia, Unremarkable
Your early life was unremarkable, merely a single face amongst the
teeming masses of humanity. Of no importance to the hierarchy of
the Imperium, nor cast out beyond the fringes of society, you seemed
doomed to a life of mediocrity and anonymity. Through ceaseless toil to
improve your lot in life, you learned quickly the politics of the common
man, of preserving your own meagre interests with a wary eye cast to the
efforts of your peers. Through these methods, you clawed your way from
amongst the masses to make something of yourself.
Pit-Fighter
Cost: 400xp
Characteristics: +3 WS, +3 St -or- T
Skills: Dodge -or- Parry
Talents: Peer (Underworld), Pugilist
Special: +1 Corruption
There are numerous underground blood-sport arenas and fighting pits
across the galaxy where barbaric gladiators fight for glory and the
entertainment of the masses; this is your world. Thriving amid the lower
castes of society, gladiatorial combat is a staple of many Imperial cul-
tures. Here, men and women fight for glory and wealth; there are a few,
however, who have been sentenced to the pits for their crimes. Many of
the fighters are hereditary combatants; their parents fought, their grand-
parents fought, and so on back through the generations.
You have been training and honing your body since birth, and
you have been champion more than once. You have studied at the feet of
great pugilists and sword-masters. Some of the depraved and jaded no-
bility crave exotic fights and thus you have been pitted against grotesque
xenos and mutants with awful mind-powers. But your abilities have not
gone unnoticed and you know soon enough you will again feel the rush
and clarity of mind that can only come from mortal combat.
35
 Background Options
Press-Ganged
Cost: 100xp
Characteristics: +3 Wp
Skills: One Rank of Any Skill, Common Lore (Choose One)
Talents: Enemy (Choose One)
Skilled men and women with unique and valuable talents, be they Nav-
igators or Armsmen, are themselves commodities to the unscrupulous
and the desperate. There are many voyages undertaken and crewed by
those who have little choice in the matter, from ratings that toil under
an overseer’s lash in the depths of a warship to abducted Astropaths and
scions of Rogue Trader blood whose shackles may be made of silken
threats and prison cells crafted by insidious blackmail but are no less real
for that. Although some may see such experiences as no more than part
of the “great game” of things, you take a different view and have sworn
never to be a puppet or pawn in someone else’s game again. Just who
you were forced into serving in the past and how you managed to escape
your bondage is a secret you rarely share, but one day your captors will
have cause to remember the offence they did you and regret it.
Prestige
Cost: 100xp
Talents: Peer (Choose One) -or- Talented (Choose One)
The Imperium of Mankind is a grand hierarchy, and that, to your eyes,
is a ladder reaching from the least peasant to the blinding heights of the
God-Emperor’s own Holy Terra. You have dedicated your life to climb-
ing that ladder in search of the highest station you can reach: the greatest
power, the most important position of leadership, the utmost influence.
Wealth, renown, and relationships with the powerful are only important
insofar as they enable you to reach that next step. All too many fools nev-
er reach upward, but you bear them no ill-will. The position they might
have ascended to will be yours, and they will be your loyal servants in
the years ahead.
Pride
Cost: 300xp
Special: Increase the Craftsmanship of one item this character starts with
to Best Craftsmanship (This cannot be taken along with Archeotechnolo-
gist Background Option)
Above all else, you want respect—the admiration of allies and the
grudging esteem of foes, and will countenance no insult to your honour
to go unchallenged. You suffer none to be so ignorant as to deride you as
unworthy of your name, unfit for your legacy, or lacking in talent. When
you seek to prove yourself, it is for the sake of your own high standards,
or perhaps out of frustration that the mighty do not yet recognize your
true worth. Regardless, it is for you to lead and demonstrate your worth
by your actions and your bearing, and any that doubt or disparage you
had best have the steel to back up their words.
Recidivist
Cost: 0xp
Skills: Stealth -or- Deceive
Talents: Enemy (Arbites), Resistance (Interrogation)
Your entire life has been a struggle against what others would call
“lawfullness”. Ever at odds, whether it be with planetary enforcers, men-
at-arms, or even the Adeptus Arbites, you have fought against the law
endlessly, often just for survival. Your repeat offenses against the powers
that be have not gone unnoticed, and while you may not have a price
on your head, it could well be placed at any time. Your life of crime has
taught you many skills and abilities that those on the “right” side of the
law would never consider picking up, and it’s likely that some may find
such a skill set of use, for fair or for foul.
36 2.1 Character Generation Options
Rivals
Cost: 0xp
Characteristics: +3 Fel
Talents: Rival (Choose One)
You have been scorned! You were wronged or insulted and it’s some-
thing you cannot let rest. You will pursue the matter until satisfaction has
been had, even if that means taking payment in blood. This is a personal
matter for you, and the insult may only be slight. Whatever the case may
be it’s a matter for you to settle and you alone.
Renown
Cost: 0xp
Talents: Air of Authority -or- Peer (Choose One)
The Imperium is undying and uncaring, and every day countless billions
toil and strive and die unknown, nameless, unremarked, and unthanked.
But there are a rare few whose names echo through eternity in glory:
Macharius, Solon, Haarlock, Land… And it is amongst their company
you will one day be counted, or such is your most fervent desire. You
have grand visions and the burning desire to make them real. Through
your actions and victories, you will ensure that your name will be spoken
on the lips of the multitudes yet to be born in the millennia ahead. You
will gather the best and brightest to your banner, secure the allegiance
of Imperial potentates, and then achieve such great deeds that those who
come after you will one day bow down to statues cast in your image.
Savant
Cost: 100xp
Characteristics: +3 Int -or- Fel, -3 T
Skills: Logic
Talents: Peer (Choose One Adepta)
To the scholar’s ear, there is no worse sound than the tearing of parch-
ment. It always marks a desecration of one sort or another, be it a price-
less work lost or a savant destroying his own fl wed labours in disgust.
You know this because the murmuring of savants, clicking of lexmachin-
ery, and scent of ink and dust have been a part of your life for as long as
you can recall. Apprentices are brought young into the Adept’s trade, for
there is much to learn and the human span holds little time to learn it in.
Apprentices sit in attendance at meeting after meeting between elder sa-
vants, bathed in the exchange of knowledge until they know how to learn
and the correct knowledge has been drilled into them. All the galaxy is
packed with knowledge, and even the smallest drop of it would fill the
minds of a world of savants to bursting. Yet you derive much comfort
from learning—even though you could never personally know more than
a miniscule fraction of all there is to know.
Scavenger
Cost: 100xp
Skills: Awareness
Talents: Unremarkable -or- Resistance (Fear)
Special: +1d5 Corruption Points -or- +1d5 Insanity Points
You became an adult amidst the yearning and poverty of the least of the
God-Emperor’s flock, one soul amongst countless underhivers, rene-
gades, bonepickers, and a thousand other outcast castes that exist on the
fringes of the Imperium, scavenging what they can to survive. All that
you owned was claimed from the wastes of those far above you in the
Imperial hierarchy or gleaned from the wreckage and ashes of past war
and catastrophe—at least, everything that wasn’t taken from the bodies
of your peers and rivals, of course. Yours was a hard life lived upon a
knife-edge: the dark abyss of starvation on one side and death or worse
on the other. A childhood where each day of survival was a triumph has
hardened and honed you, but left its scars on your soul.
 Background Options
Scrapegrace
Cost: 100xp
Characteristics: +3 Int -or- Per
Skills: Stealth
Special: +1d5 Corruption Points -or- +1d5 Insanity Points
An orphan of the borderland between light and dark, you spent years
living by your wits as a scapegrace amidst entertainers, gangers, reclaim-
ators, and other ne’er-do-wells on the fringes of Imperial society. Your
youth was spent in a grey borderland where the near-outcast mingled
with shadowed figu es risen from the depths and thrill-seekers come
down from safer climes. A good scapegrace knows that the law only
applies to those caught by the enforcers, that a life is worth only as much
as is spent on keeping it. You’ve carried these hard earned lessons on into
later life. Survival is best thought of as a game, with pleasure and ease
the rewards along the way. A body must eat, drink, and live well, for
death can come calling when it pleases.
Seeker of Truth
Cost: 0xp
Characteristics: -3 Wp
Skills: Forbidden Lore (Choose One)
Talents: Enemy (Administratum -or- Ecclesiarchy), Foresight
You have always been inquisitive, and within Imperial society, this is a
trait highly frowned upon. Thus, you have had to strike out and follow
your own path through the galaxy going from one mystery to the next.
You have a thirst for knowledge that has brought you out into the voids.
Perhaps you have come to explore the Koronus Expanse, or you seek to
decipher the riddle of why a particular precursor race vanished. Maybe
you’re seeking an empirical truth, or enlightenment that you know must
be somewhere in the cosmos. Or perhaps you simply want validation to a
theory you have. Regardless, you are prepared to travel to the ends of the
universe to find it.
Ship-Lorn
Cost: 200xp
Skills: Survival
Talents: Dark Soul, Abiding Resilience
For those who ply the void, there are few things that provoke as much
fear in them as to be robbed of their starship, to have the very crux of
their identity cruelly taken from them by sudden destruction or be-
trayal. Whether by shipwreck, enemy action, or darker reasons such
as mutiny or deliberate abandonment, there are few more terrible fates
for an Explorer than to have been a castaway without help, either on a
strange world or, worse yet, lost in the icy grip of the cold stars. It takes
a remarkable individual to survive such a fate, capable of drawing on
reservoirs of resolve and self-reliance few can hope to muster, but such
endurance can be a two-edged sword. To others who travel the stars and
brave the tides of the empyrean, you are marked out and distrusted for
surviving what you should not have endured, and the void born whisper
that your ill-luck will follow you wherever you go. You care not, for ev-
ery day you stride the deck of a ship and see another star dawn is another
step taken in scorn of the doom you have escaped.
Stubjack
Cost: 300xp
Characteristics: +5 WS -or- BS, -5 Fel
Skills: Intimidate
Talents: Quick Draw
Special: +1d5 Insanity Points
You were born to violence. It has surrounded you your whole life, and
you’ve had a weapon in easy reach ever since you were strong enough to
2.1 Character Generation Options
grip one. You could have joined the PDF or even become a Guardsman,
but what sort of life is that? Joining a regiment means orders here, orders
there, and none that make any sense. It was clear to you that fighting for
Thrones as a mercenary was the best way for a warrior to become rich in
his trade and still escape with his skin. You’ve seen death, victory, and
most of the ugly things that lie inbetween, but as long as there is always a
fat purse waiting on the far side of the battlefield that’s fine with you. As
for the dead, the Emperor will know his own.
Survivalist
Cost: 300xp
Characteristics: +3 T -or- Per
Skills: Awareness, Survival
Talents: Sprint
Special: +1d5+5 Insanity
There are those who, for whatever reason, move about from place to
place, never staying in one spot for very long. Some are nomadic fami-
lies and tribes who move about their world’s continents following herds
or other resources. Some are miners or merchants who go about plying
their trade or wares. There are others who not only move about across
the land, but also go from system to system—and beyond! Whatever
background your family has, this is the life you were born into. Your life
is that of a nomadic wanderer, with little permanence. But you do have
skills and honed instincts that keep you alive in the most hostile of cli-
mates. You are alert for danger and know how to survive in the galaxy’s
myriad wildernesses. However, you have also witnessed many horrors
of this galaxy through you travels as there are places in this universe that
man was not meant to go. The nightmares still haunt you to this day.
Tainted by the Warp
Cost: 200xp
Characteristics: +3 Per -or- Wp, -3 Fel
Talents: Dark Soul, Jaded
Special: +10 Corruption Points, For an additional 200xp gain Favoured
by the Warp and +1d10 Corruption Points
Whatever the reason, you have been irrevocably tainted by contact with
the Immaterium, your soul scarred by a malign exposure that was present
since you were very young. To you the material world feels static and
unyielding, pale and cold compared to the barely-imaginable churning
of the Warp. You are distant from his fellow man, for their world feels so
small and confining compared to the infinite reaches your instincts tell
you lay beyond reality’s walls, and little can scare you; the horrors of
the Warp have lingered in swiftly-forgotten dreams, lurking behind your
conscious mind for most of your life, and no mortal concern can compare
with that.
Tech-Heretic
Cost: 0xp
Characteristics: +3 Int
Skills: Two Skills from the following list:
Forbidden Lore (Any), Tech-Use, Medicae, Scholastic Lore (any)
Talents: Enemy (Mechanicus) x2
Special: +1d10 Corruption Points
Those known as tech-heretics, or “hereteks,” are often branded as crimi-
nals. As technology is little understood and rightly feared for the troubles
it has caused in mankind’s past, these blasphemers are often hunted down
by the Adeptus Mechanicus. If caught, they face the prospect of being
“recycled” into a servitor—mind-wiped and slaved to serve the Priest-
hood of Mars. Hereteks are versed in the dark arts of technology, and
typically gained their knowledge outside the Priesthood of Mars. Many
gained their “dark” powers through the application of intuitive leaps of
37
 Background Options
logic. Some of them are nothing more than scavengers who dwell in
the dregs of society. Others are more dangerous, supplying the under-
world and black markets with prohibited technology, drugs, chems, and
even weaponry. A few tales whispered in the dark shadows tell of those
hereteks who have crossed over into greater tech-heresy and delve into
things best not spoken of. Like any subculture within the Imperium,
hereteks are often drawn to those of like mind and those that can survive
on the fringes of society.
The Hand of War
Cost: 0xp
Talents: Weapon Training (Choose One) -or- Leap Up, Enemy (Choose
One), Hatred (Same as Enemy)
The Imperium of Man is wracked by war and violence, whilst beyond
its borders the strife and conflict is even worse in many regions. Not all
wars, however, are equal, and you were caught up in a bitter and terri-
fying campaign in which starships were left as burning hulks and cities
were blasted to ruin in a vicious series of battles that saw no quarter
asked or given. The war and the enemy you fought to the death has had
a profound effect on you, and to the present day, the faces of the dead
haunt you still when you close your eyes. Now, you count only those you
have fought and bled with as true allies, and will never forgive your old
foe. You strive hard for what you desire, for you know that death stands
never more than a heartbeat away.
The Thrill of War
Cost: 200xp
Characteristics: +3 WS -or- BS, -3 Fel
Skills: Tactics (Choose One)
Talents: Litany Against Fear, Quick Draw
You live for excitement, and no greater excitement can be found than
that of battle. You yearn for the din and mayhem of conflict, the tests of
skill, wits and courage, and eagerly seek out fights wherever they can be
found. Others may condemn you as a warmonger or find your belliger-
ent ways off-putting, but your heart craves the rush of battle and such a
thing should not be denied. Even in times of peace, you prepare for war,
duelling for sport and honour, honing your skills and musing through
countless theoretical strategies in anticipation of wars to come.
Tithed
Cost: 300xp
Characteristics: +3 WS -or- BS -or- Wp
Special: Two Ranks of a Common Lore, chosen from the following list:
Adeptus Astra Telepathica, Administratum, Imperial Creed, Imperial
Guard, Imperial Navy, Imperium or War. Any two choices from the
following list of Skills and Talents. Skills chosen are increased by one
Rank: Operate (Choose One), Linguistics (High Gothic), Medicae,
Navigation (Surface), Survival, Tactics (Choose One), Tech-Use, Trade
(Choose One), Weapon Training (Las -or- SP)
Human life is the single most abundant resource in the Imperium of Man,
and yours is no different. Dragged from the life you seemed destined to
lead so that you might serve the Emperor in some other capacity, your
years were spent in the company of those like yourself, people of many
worlds given up as a tithe to the Imperium. You may have served in the
Imperial Guard or been conscripted into the Imperial Navy. You may
even have been a conscript-colonist for a newly-settled world, a menial
for the city-offices of the Administratum, or something else entirely.
Whatever the case, your life of service helped you escape from the life
you might have lead, providing you with a broader knowledge of the
Imperium and the rare opportunity to see things you might never have
even heard of had you not been taken from your home.
38 2.1 Character Generation Options
Tormented by the Unspeakable
Cost: 200xp
Talents: Jaded, Lightning Reflexes, Resistance (Fear)
Special: +2d10 Insanity Points
There is something out there, a nightmare given substance that you may
have glimpsed for only a moment, its horror, if not its visage, burned for-
ever onto your mind. That it is coming is enough to drive you to despera-
tion, whether or not it is coming for you, because you know, deep down,
that when it arrives, it will spell doom for everyone. You have borne
witness to one of the unspeakable horrors of the universe, an entity or
presence so awful that you will attempt anything to escape it, though no
escape seems possible. This vision was so dreadful that the things which
terrify lesser men hold no fear for you, so tame are they by comparison.
Truth-Seeker
Cost: 200xp
Characteristics: +3 Int
Skills: Forbidden Lore (Choose One), Scholastic Lore (Choose One)
Special: +1d5 Corruption Points
The Adeptus Ministorum are the controlling cultural administrators of
Humanity, and their purview of “acceptable thought” is a narrow one
indeed. While minor variations of belief are tolerated in the cases of new-
ly-inducted worlds that have been recently brought into the Imperial fold,
this is seen as a soon-to-be-rectified problem. When the beliefs of the
Ecclesiarchy are twisted, altered, or otherwise changed such deviants are
persecutedimmeidately. You are indeed on whose beliefs diverge from
the Ecclesiarchy’s accepted doctrine, and while you keep such thoughts
in your head it undoubtedly creates a friction with those of the Imperial
Cult and yourself.
Unnerving Clarity
Cost: 0xp
Characteristics: +5 Wp, +3 Fate, -5 Fel
Special: +1d10 Insanity Points
You possess faith so great that it has carried you far beyond the mundane
life that would otherwise have been your lot. Whether it is something that
has always been a part of you or was born in you from amidst a battle-
field or came to you in a revelation, where others merely believe, you
have certainty. You will bring the God-Emperor’s will to the unbeliever
and the needy, to protect the righteous and punish the enemies of Man-
kind.
Vengeance
Cost: 0xp
Characteristics: +3 Wp
Talents: Enemy (Choose One), Hatred (Same as Enemy)
Special: +1d10 Insanity Points
Vengeance burns within your heart, flaming afresh in your veins each
time you wake from dreams of knives and murder. You seek revenge
against those who have wronged you. That desire gnaws at you, haunts
your sleep, and shadows your every action. All must toil to live, but
with each step you take, you ask yourself: “Is this a step closer to my
revenge?” The need rides you, and it will do so until the day you stand
above the bloody corpses of the last of your enemies. And what then? It
matters not, now, for that day is far yet, and the path long. If retribution
consumes you entirely between now and then, making a ghost of the man
you once were, then that is a price you are willing to pay.
 Background Options
Wanted Fugitive
Cost: 0xp
Skills: Stealth -or- Deceive
Talents: Enemy (Arbites), Hunted (Arbites), Peer (Underworld)
You are a wanted man. More specifically, one wanted by the Adeptus
Arbites for your transgressions against the Lex Imperialis. Depending on
the nature of your crimes the sentence may range from summary execu-
tion to lifetime imprisonment. You would much rather prefer no sentence
be levelled against you, and are doing everything in your power to avoid
Imperial law enforcement and trigger-happy bounty hunters that have a
contract with your name on it.
Warp Incursion
Cost: 100xp
Skills: Deny the Witch, Forbidden Lore (The Warp), Psynicience
Talents: Jaded, Resistance (Psychic Powers)
Special: +1d5+10 Corruption Points, +1d5+10 Insanity Points
You have been witness to a singular event: the opening of a portal
between the material universe and the Warp. You were the survivor of a
Geller Field failure, or witness to (or victim of ) a daemonic possession
or another warp entity—somehow you lived through the incident, but
it has scarred you forever. You suffer from nightmares, but in return
you have gained a degree of protection from warp entities. This might
manifest as a type of invisibility to these entities, or maybe they find your
“smell” to be intolerable. Whatever the reason, you thank the God-Em-
peror every day for the protection He has imparted unto you.
Warrior
Cost: 200xp
Characteristics: +5 WS, +5 St -or- T
Talents: Meditation
The Imperial war machine is ever on the lookout for those with a natural
aptitude for close combat. They take a special interest in those trained in
the martial arts before they ever learn to shoot. Such people tend to come
from savage places such as death worlds or hive worlds. The Imperium
employs them as shock troops and assault specialists. Each and every
day is spent honing their body and skills into a weapon for the Emperor.
It is not surprising that many wish to go on to become the pinnacle of
their art, and thus seek out those who are also skilled in close combat.
Sometimes, only one walks away from such encounters, wiser for the
techniques they have met and overcome. Other times these encounters
prove less lethal, and both parties walk away with new knowledge—and
new wounds.
2.1 Character Generation Options
Xenoarcanist
Cost: 200xp
Characteristics: +3 Int -or- Per
Skills: Forbidden Lore (Xenos)
Talents: Xenosavant
Academic scholarship has long been your fervent pursuit. You seek to
study the dreaded xenos and their works throughout the galaxy. However,
you walk a thin line as you have learned that those who possess knowl-
edge of the alien are persecuted—some are even executed or taken away
by the Holy Inquisition. This is a fate you try very hard to avoid. You
know that there are several groups out there, including Rogue Traders,
who highly prize those who possess knowledge of the xenos that they
deal with. You may have amassed you own small library (hidden, of
course), or perhaps you have a mysterious patron who sends you infor-
mation from time to time. You dream of the day when your knowledge
can be used to aid humanity.
Xenophile
Cost: 0xp
Characteristics: +3 Int -or- Wp
Skills: Forbidden Lore (Xenos)
Talents: Enemy (Inquisition), Ambassador Imperialis
Special: +1d5 Corruption Points, +1d10+5 Insanity Points
Reviling the alien is a core tenet of Imperial beliefs, but you have your
doubts. While you may not (or indeed may) have a direct respect for xe-
nos, you know that Imperium can learn from the histories, philosophies,
and perhaps even technologies of the galaxy’s alien races. This disregard
for mainline Imperial thought is most likely not something you voice
very publicly, but in personal ventures and pursuits it is a driving force
in your life. It is likely that you know something of at least one other
species, and perhaps have even made contact with them.
Xenos Hunter
Cost: 200xp
Characteristics: +3 WS -or- BS
Skills: Forbidden Lore (Xenos) -or- Scholastic Lore (Beasts), Survival
Talents: Leap Up -or- Sprint
You hunt aliens, sapient or not. Perhaps you were a scout or sniper in
the Imperial Guard, smiting the foes of humanity from afar. Or you may
have come into your own as you learned to hunt and stalk your prey.
Whatever the case may be, you found that you had a knack for tracking
your chosen target. Nothing gives you more thrill than when you spot
your quarry and move in on them—whether for the long-range takedown,
or the up-close kill.
39
 Lineage Backgrounds
Much like standard Backgrounds, Lineage Backgrounds are experiences from a character’s past that have helped shape them into who they are this
day. Unlike regular Backgrounds, however, Lineage Backgrounds are only available to those with the Highborn Home World, as none beyond such a
rarified origin would be able to live a life such as one of the ones presented below, for fair or for foul. Additionally, unlike standard Backgrounds only
a single Lineage Background may be taken, as each choice represents a very different life story and upbringing.
A Powerful Legacy
Cost: 300xp
Characteristics: +15 Inf
Talents: Air of Authority, Talented (Command -or- Intimidate)
Special: +3 Profit Factor
A place in the politics of entire sectors of Imperial space is the legacy
you have found yourself with, and thanks to your influence amongst men
and women whose wills command worlds, you are eminently comfort-
able in such circles. You are respected and feared for what you can do to
those who earn your displeasure, and for the discretion with which you
use that power. Even when people have not heard of your family, so com-
manding and powerful is your presence that they will listen anyway.
Another Generation of Shame
Cost: 0xp
Talents: Decadence, Friends in Low Places -or- Habitual User, Peer
(Underworld)
Special: -2 Profit Factor
Your life has been ill-favoured. With nothing to look up to, no prestige to
bear the burden of, your life lacked aspiration, and you have spent years
whittling away what little wealth remains, allowing the family reputation
to sink even lower as the glorious past grows ever more distant. Even
now, you do little but bring it further shame and disrepute
Born to Wealth
Cost: 400xp
Special: +5 Profit Factor
Your inheritance was huge. The wealth afforded to the lesser scions of
your family was still more than sufficient to eclipse the entire estates of
many lesser families. As the one who claimed the ultimate prize, your
wealth is greater still, bringing with it the means to do a great many
things that those of less grand circumstances might never dream of. Any
desire you have now is within your grasp, for there are few doors that
sufficient money cannot open eventually.
Cursed Line
Cost: 0xp
Skills: Deceive, Scrutiny
Talents: Talented (Deceive)
Special: -1 Profit Factor, +2d10 Corruption Points -or- Insanity Points
Something foul lurks within your ancestry, something that would bring
ruin upon your family were it ever to become known to outsiders. You
guard that secret with your life, for the disgrace of it would bring you and
all your family low. Your power now makes that all the harder, for your
enemies are many and they eagerly seek the means to overcome you.
Were they to learn of your secret familial disgrace, little would be able
to stop them extorting or blackmailing you for all you possess, or even
simply revealing it out of spite and malice.
40 2.1 Character Generation Options
Far-Reaching Contacts
Cost: 500xp
Talents: Gain any three Peer Talents (subject to GM approval).
Special: Gain two Contacts who are a Group, Offer Favours, and are
Trusted
You know people who know people, and the people you know are well-
placed indeed. For generations, your family has had friends, relatives and
acquaintances in every sector of Imperial society. This extensive network
of contacts and allies has allowed your family to become more power-
ful and influential than they might otherwise have been, and now that
network is yours to use. A casual name-drop here, an “I’m a friend of the
Lord Admiral” there, and sooner or later nothing is beyond your reach.
Heir Apparent
Cost: 200xp
Characteristics: +3 to Any, +5 Inf
Talents: Talented (Choose One)
Special: +1 Profit Factor
Your fate was always this: to stand at the forefront of the next generation
and carry the family tradition one step further. For you, the weight of
responsibility was the hardest, for you alone were required to bear the ex-
pectations of your entire family. Now, however, you look back thankfully
on those harsh formative years, for the constant pressure of your teachers
and predecessors gave you an advantage which will allow you to thrive
in the years ahead.
My Great Grandfather Built This Colony
Cost: 500xp
Characteristics:
Skills:
Talents: Good Reputation (Choose One)
Special: +1 Profit Factor, and a Colony with a Size equal to the Profit
Factor Bonus.
Your connections and the legacy you have inherited reach many places,
and you have learned of those places well, lending authority to your pres-
ence and swaying those who might otherwise have cause to doubt you.
Your ancestors laid the foundations for your present prosperity, and you
take advantage of that whenever the opportunity arises. When your own
reputation does not open doors for you, that of your forebears will.
New Blood
Cost: 100xp
Talents: Rival (Nobility)
Special: +10 Influence -or- +2 Profit Factor
You or a member of your family were recently rewarded for something
done in service to the Emperor or a lesser noble. Whatever it was, you
now find yourself thrust into the ranks of Imperial nobility—but it’s not
the life of easy luxury and power you envisioned. The more established
members of the aristocracy scorn and look down upon you. Many dynas-
ties see you as an upstart family—a rival at best and an enemy at worst.
Given time, you know that your family will prove themselves worthy of
the honour they have been given.
 Lineage Options
Outraged Scion
Cost: 300xp
Skills: Forbidden Lore (Choose Two)
Talents: Armour of Contempt, Peer (Inquisition)
You stand apart from your predecessors and have made yourself an
example of purity to spite their foul memory. When the purges came and
claimed your living relatives, you led the Inquisition to their door, glad to
see them receive the punishment they deserved. Now free to pursue your
own legacy, you hope above all else that you can leave the taint of your
lineage behind.
Perilous Choice
Cost: 300xp
Talents: Psy Rating (1), any one Primaris Technique
Special: Gain the Psyker (Unbound) Trait, +2d10 Corruption Points,
this character cannot take the Adeptus Mechanicus Career or any Elite
Advances, the gains the Psyker Aptitude
There are fewer sins greater than concealing a psychic gift from the
authorities, and fewer still that are more dangerous. Yet, for reasons you
keep to yourself, you have made the decision to do just that. Through
careful and illegal study, possibly at the feet of a like-minded family
member, you have obtained a degree of mastery over your natural powers
that allows you to keep them secret, yet ready to be called upon in direst
need.
Prominent Ancestry
Cost: 200xp
Characteristics: +3 Inf
Skills: Scholastic Lore (Heraldry, History)
Talents: Talented (Scholastic Lore [History])
Your formative years were spent in the presence of many tutors, learning
the history of the Imperium and the part your ancestors played in that his-
tory. Long hours of study, and longer ones of rote-learning and recitation,
have given you a significant insight into matters historical, and the habits
of your youth stay with you even to this day—you retain a deep curiosity
about the events of ancient times.
Proven to be Pure
Cost: 300xp
Characteristics: +3 Wp
Skills: Deny the Witch
Talents: Resistance (Psychic Powers)
You are pure, either lacking psychic powers altogether, or possessing suf-
ficient strength of soul and mind to be of use to the Imperium. In either
case, long years of growing up amongst a family known for producing
psykers have made you well-able to resist the power of the witch and the
daemonic, and if you are a psyker yourself, your knowledge of psychic
powers is all the more impressive.
Secret Taint
Cost: 100xp
Skills: Deceive, Inquiry
Talents: Dark Soul
Special: 1d10+10 Corruption Points
You have long been careful to hide the worst of yourself and your family
from outsiders. Their greatest atrocities are tales of horror, yet the truth
of them is far worse. Endless caution and boundless cunning define
generations of your ancestors, and you have inherited these traits along
with something far more sinister. Now you are the head of the family,
and your power can be used to any end you wish...so long as nobody
discovers it.
2.1 Character Generation Options
Shameful Offspring
Cost: 0xp
Characteristics: +3 T -or- Per, -3 Inf
Talents: Decadence, Rivalry (Your House)
Special: +1d5 Corruption Points -or- Insanity Points
Burdened by expectations of glory and succession, you quickly sought
the first escape you could find. While your siblings worked hard to earn
the prestige of the family name, you indulged your whims and desires
in an effort to avoid those responsibilities. Whether through cruel fate,
inexplicable fortune or great calamity, however, you find yourself the
main heir to the line, and your forebears shudder to think of the damage
you might do to the family name now that you are in charge.
The Last Child
Cost: 200xp
Characteristics: +3 Int -or- Fel
Skills: Commerce, Trade (Choose One)
Special: -3 Profit Factor
Your family is not merely disgraced, it is dead. You alone are the sole
survivor of a once proud lineage that fell into disrepute and paid the
ultimate price for it. Whether they made the wrong enemies, were on the
wrong world at the wrong time as war or rebellion took hold, or faced
some other fate, they are gone and you are all that remains, the last heir
and the only one who can ensure that your family continues or, at the
very least, dies with pride. You will need all your wits and cunning to
ensure the survival of your clan, as your once vast resources are now
next to nothing.
The One to Redeem Them
Cost: 200xp
Characteristics: +5 Willpower
Skills: Commerce
Special: -1 Profit Factor
Your family’s shame is an outrage you have struggled beneath your
whole life. Perhaps inspired by noble ancestors predating the fall from
grace, or simply infuriated by the state of the family reputation and
resources, you set forth to bring your inheritance back from the brink and
return your clan to the glory it knew long ago. With no others to chal-
lenge your claim, you have taken control and pushed onwards to achieve
something worthy of your ancestors, stopping at nothing to regain their
wealth and redeem their honour.
Uncertain Inheritance
Cost: 400xp
Characteristics: +3 Int -or- Per
Skills: Charm, Deceive, Inquiry
Talents: Eloquent, Paranoid, Whispers
Your early years were spent in a constant state of intrigue, as you warred
silently with your siblings, cousins and rivals to be the one who inher-
ited the power and the prestige. Those who failed would be condemned
to lives of lesser significance, always overshadowed by the one who
claimed the prize. In the end, long-fought political battles and hard-won
cunning paid off and you stand triumphant—and alone.
41
 Lineage Options
Vaunted
Cost: 200xp
Characteristics: +3 Int -or- Fel, -3 Per
Talents: Cold Hearted, Dark Soul, Decadence, Habitual User
Special: +1d10+10 Corruption Points
You grew to adulthood upon the spire of wealth and privilege that towers,
in some cases literally, high above the common Imperial masses. You ex-
pected their obedience and lived upon the fruits of their toil, surrendered
to your extended family in solemn fealty. It was an upbringing amidst
proud scions, wastrel lords, and high-priced retainers of silent, watchful
competence. All the distractions available to the wealthy, bored elite were
arrayed before you for the taking, day after day—a panoply of decadence
to enervate the body and transport the mind. Those were years of fantas-
tical exhibitions, sordid entanglements, strange drugs, conspiracies for
the sake of show, mindless rivalries, and carefully hidden violence.
Witch Knowledge
Cost: 300xp
Skills: Forbidden Lore (The Warp), Invocation
Talents: Resistance (Psychic Powers), Strong Minded
Special: +1d10+5 Corruption Points
Your family has long held a fascination with the warp, the witch, and the
daemon. The presence of the witch amongst you has only fuelled that
fascination, though you work hard to hide it from the Inquisition and
others who would not understand your labours. Your quest for knowledge
has led you to deal with all manner of individuals who may know useful
information.

Vile Insight
Cost: 300xp
Skills: Forbidden Lore (Choose Three)
Special: +2d5 Corruption Points, +2d5 Insanity Points
Whether for good or ill, you have seen much that no human ever should.
Esoteric and forbidden knowledge was your constant companion through
your early life, and your understanding of such subjects is something
that would shock most people. Whether you choose to turn that insight
to greater things, or are tainted by it, is for the future to decide. For now,
you possess great knowledge, and it gives you a decisive edge.

42 2.1 Character Generation Options

 Mental Afflictions
Mental Afflictions are forms of madness that make themselves apparent as a character accrues more Insanity Points, with their severity increasing
when the character’s total Insanity Points reaches 20, 50, and 80. Once one of these thresholds is reached it cannot be lowered beyond that number,
and the character suffers a new effect of the madness he has been afflicted by. Below 20 Insanity Points a character is not generally affected by their
Mental Affliction, though there may be some telltale signs of where they may head, if they become inundated by the horrors of the galaxy. Players
must choose, or randomly select, a Mental Affliction for their player characters, as it is likely that they will be exposed to many terrible events in their
time. Remember that a character is irrevocably and uselessly insane if he gains 100 Insanity Points, and that accrued Insanity Points nay be reduced
by 1 per each week spent relaxing and seeking mental calm (this may, however, not lower a character’s Insanity Points below 20, 50, or 80 if they
have already passed one of these thresholds).
For more detailed information and full rules for Mental Afflictions see Section 11.2 “Mental Afflictions”.

1d100
Name Description
Roll
01-05 Bestial Nature The character is possessed of an animalistic fury.
06-10 Burn The Witch The character abhors psykers and witches.
11-15 Chill of the Void The character’s demeanor is recalcitrant, cold, and may well become intolerant in the extreme.
16-20 Crusader’s Call The character’s martial pride is unfaltering, to the point of self-endangerment.
Curse The
21-25 The character is obsessed with rooting out and executing traitors and heretics.
Heretic
Dark The character is an utter horror in combat, obsessed with the mutilation and desecration of his
26-30
Rage foes.
Death Before
31-35 The character is exceedingly stubborn and critical.
Dishonour
Deepening
36-40 The character is troublingly fixated upon forbidden knowledges.
Mysteries
41-45 Divine Purity The character is utterly focused on spiritual purity.
46-50 Feral Savagery The character is prone to losing himself in the fury of battle.
Grim
51-55 The character sees only his own death in the future.
Determination
Lure of the
56-60 The character becomes withdrawn and sees only flaws in his allies.
Shadows
Only Honour
61-65 The character is self-sacrificing to a fault.
In Death
Pride of The
66-70 The character is prideful to the point of hubris.
Imperium
71-75 Quest for Glory The character is obsessed with honour and glory.
76-80 Revile The Xenos The character’s hatred of aliens often overpowers his common sense.
81-85 Steel Over Flesh The character harbours a disdain for weakness of all kinds, and particularly that of the flesh.
86-90 The Secret The character harbors a dark secret that he must hide at all costs
91-95 The Thirst The character becomes consumed by a thirst for spilling blood.
96-100 Unyielding The character refuses to change his mind or outlook, even if faced with death.

2.1 Character Generation Options 43

 Touched By The Warp Options
No few unfortunates throughout the Imperium of Mankind have been touched or are innately attuned to the Empyrean. Some are left irrevocably
changed after a terrible and intimate visitation, while others must endure their whole lives with the knowledge that just beyond the thin skein of real-
ity there are hungering legions of aetheric predators awaiting them, eagerly watching for a moment of weakness. Each of the Touched By The Warp
Options presented here are an optional way to add psychic, null, or other esoteric powers to a character’s profile, something that is very necessary for
Psykers, Navigators, Untouchables, and Exorcised characters.
Each Option comprises three components: Prerequisites, Cost, and Effects. When a character gains the Elite Advance, each of these three
components must be considered. A character must first meet the Prerequisite for the Touched By The Warp Option, they must then pay the Cost in
experience points (using only xp from their 1000xp that all player characters start with), and then they apply the Effects, adding all gained Character-
istics, Skills, Talents, Traits, Aptitudes, and Gear to their character’s profile.

Touched By The Warp Options can only be taken at character creation, and paid for with the character’s initial 1000xp, and the character may not
have the Mechanicus Implants Trait, regardless of it’s source.

Sanctioned Psyker Aptitude: Psyker

You have taken the holy pilgrimage, willingly or not, from your home
world to Terra, aboard one of the dreaded Black Ships of the Astra Tele-
pathica. There, on the throne world of mankind, you were tested, graded,
and trained by your seniors in the Scholastia Psykana, and after many,
many years of you were bonded with the God-Emperor of Mankind. You
bear the holy scars of this joining, and now, you go forth to do His will
with your mental arsenal.
Prerequisites: Wp 35
Cost: 500xp
Effects
Skills: Deny the Witch, Psynicience
Talents: Psy Rating (2), Rite of Sanctioning, any one Primaris Power
Traits: Psyker (Bound), Soul Bound
Aptitude: Psyker
Gear: Common Craftsmanship Psy-Conductor Cybernetic
Renegade Psyker
When the Black Ships of the Astra Telepathica came to take their pick
of psykers from your home world you were not taken. Whether this was
due to them simply overlooking you, if you evaded them, or even if you
fended them off is not important, all that matters is you are still here. As
a renegade psyker you have likely kept your gifts largely hidden, using
them only in times of great necessity. Whether your gifts will be used for
damnation or salvation is up to you.
Prerequisites: Wp 35
Cost: 500xp
Effects
Skills: Invocation, Psynicience
Talents: Psy Rating (2), Warp Affinity, any one Primaris Power
Traits: Psyker (Unbound)
Aptitude: Psyker
Gear: Common Craftsmanship Psy-Conductor Cybernetic
Nascent Psyker
It's doubtful that anyone knows you're a psyker, even you may well not
know of it. Only an expert witchhunter could determine that you exhibit
psychic potential, and even so, your potential is not particularly high. In
the end, however, not having the burden of such psychic might on your
shoulders (and maybe even believing that luck is simply on your side at
intense moments) is a great relief, and it likely saved you from the atten-
tions of the Black Ships.
Prerequisites: Wp 35
Cost: 300xp
Effects
Talents: Psy Rating (2)
Traits: Psyker (Unbound)
Gear: Psy-Focus
Special: As a Nascent Psyker the character is limited in two ways; one,
he may not have a Psy Rating higher than half his Willpower Bonus, or
raise it any higher than that, and two, the character may only purchase
Tier 1 Psychic Powers from the Biomancy, Divination, Sanctic, and
Telepathy Disciplines. The Nascent Psyker must first buy the Primaris
Technique of any Disciplne they wish to buy powers from, but aside
from that may buy any Tier 1 psychic power in the Discipline as they see
fit.
Navigator
You are one of the sanctioned mutants that guide interstellar travel, a
Navigator of the Navis Nobilite. Whether your house is well-regarded or
not you are still an incalculably valuable asset, whether simply for your
ability to make Warp jumps, or more esoteric abilities. While many will
look upon you with suspicion for your mutations, you bear the seal of the
Navis Nobilite, and will go largely unmolested for them, though those
who know not of your status may still persecute you.
Prerequisites: Per 35
Cost: 500xp
Effects
Skills: Navigate (Warp), Psynicience
Talents: Navigator Power (Lidless Stare [Novice])
Traits: Navigator
Aptitude: Perception
Gear: Common Craftsmanship Navigator Implants
Special: See Section 8.0 for additional rules concerning Navigators.
Untouchable
As one of the rarest mutations of Mankind you are an Untouchable.
Also known as a Null, Blank, or Pariah, these men and women lack any
trace of a footprint in the Warp, and with sufficient training, may become
powerful forces against psykers and daemons alike. While this power is
great there is most certainly a downside, no one feels comfortable in your
presence, most of all those who are psychically attuned, and it is likely
you have been shunned your whole life as a result of this quirk.
Prerequisites: Wp 35
Cost: 300xp
Effects
Skills: Deny the Witch
Talents: Resistance (Psychic Powers)
Traits: Untouchable
Aptitude: Defence
Special: This character may purchase Untouchable Talents (see Section
4.1 “Talents Compendium”).

44 2.1 Character Generation Options

 Exorcised
A daemon has lived within your flesh before, and it was a nightmare
that has left you haunted to this very day. Whether by malign ritual or
the simple misfortune of chance a creature from the Sea of Souls took
control of your mind and body, afflicting you terribly before it left. You
still remember every agonizing moment of losing control to the inhuman
thing, and while it is no longer in your flesh it left an unfortunate amount
of it’s otherworldly taint behind, leaving you with an alarming amount of
forbidden and secret knowledge.
Prerequisites: -
Cost: 500xp
Effects
Characteristics: -1d10 T, -1d10 Fel
Skills: Forbidden Lore (Daemonology), Forbidden Lore (The Warp),
Psynicience
Talents: Hatred (Daemons), Resistance (Fear, Psychic Powers), Litany
Against Fear
Special: A character with the Exorcised Elite Advance starts with an ex-
tra 1d10+10 Corruption and 3d10 Insanity, and 1 automatic Malignancy
of choice (as though he had failed the Malignancy Test at 10 Corruption).
Whenever he gains Corruption or Insanity points, he reduces
the amount gained by half, and can no longer gain mutations. Finally,
having learned the secrets of the entity that once occupied his flesh, he
can never again become possessed by that same Daemon again.

Abhuman Options
Elite advances represent large, defining aspects of a character that separate him from his peers. Each elite advance is unique, and represents a specific
divergence from the normal human. Elite advances are an aspect of a character that has been a part of him his entire life, and are utterly indelible.
Note that the character’s Role remains the same; a Warrior, for example, still views violence as the best solution to problems, even if he
has the Renegade Psyker Elite Advance. A Role defines how a character views the galaxy around him and his position within it; Elite Advances can
take him along different paths, but do not change how he walks upon them. Not every character has access to Elite Advances, and not every character
needs to.
Each comprises three components: Prerequisites, Cost, and Effects. When a character gains the Elite Advance, each of these three compo-
nents must be considered. A character must first meet the Prerequisite for the Elite Advance, they must then pay the Cost in experience points (using
only xp from their 1000xp that all player characters start with), and then they apply the Effects, adding all gained Characteristics, Skills, Talents,
Traits, Aptitudes, and Gear to their character’s profile.

Elite Advances can only be taken at character creation, and paid for with the character’s initial 1000xp, and the character may not have the Mechani-
cus Implants Trait, regardless of it’s source.
Ogryn Effects
Ogryns are huge, powerful abhumans who are often fielded by the Characteristics: +10 Per, +10 Fel, -10 T
Imperial Guard as shock troops or employed in places where their great Skills: Awareness -or- Stealth, Deceive, Trade (Cook)
strength and stamina will come in use. Standing heads taller than an aver- Talents: Deadeye Shot, Heightened Senses (Sight, Smell, Taste)
age man, these savage, simple-minded creatures are thick with bulk and Traits: Size (3), Unnatural Agility (1)
muscle, and are descended from humans who were stranded on harsh, Aptitude: Agility
high-gravity worlds in a time long forgotten. Their thick frames are
capable of lifting immense weight and protecting them from most small
weapons fire, and their great strength is invaluable to the Imperium. Squat
Prerequisites: - A prominent sub-species reigning from the galactic core regions, these
Cost: 500xp broad, though somewhat short people are a bit more removed from the
rest of Humanity than other abhumans. Long ago in lost ages the Squats
Effects emerged as their own distinct people, and, since the Great Crusade, have
Characteristics: +10 St, +10 T, -10 Ag, -15 Int, largely joined under the banner of the Imperium of Mankind for mutual
Skills: Athletics, Intimidate benefit. Following a brief few centuries wherein they were believed to be
Talents: Die Hard, Iron Jaw extinct this abhuman race have once more reclaimed their minor, though
Traits: Size (5), Unnatural Strength (2), Unnatural Toughness (2) important, role as steadfast allies to the Imperium.
Aptitude: Strength Prerequisites: -
Cost: 500xp
Ratling Effects
Ratlings are the smallest type of abhuman, their ancestors having Characteristics: +5 St, +5 T, -5 Ag, -5 Fel
become stunted by thousands of years of inbreeding on worlds with Skills: Athletics, Trade (Armourer -or- Technomat), Tech-Use
naturally soporific climates and abundant harvests. Ratlings are short Talents: Hideous Resilience, Iron Jaw, Resistance (Cold, Heat), Void
and squat, although not strong. They are idle, hedonistic, gregarious, and Accustomed
over-friendly. Their lives are spent eating until sick and drinking copious Traits: Sturdy. Unnatural Strenth (1), Unnatural Toughness (1)
amounts of intoxicating liquids. These small, loud, and hungry creatures Aptitude: Toughness
are called Runtlings, Stunties, Halflings, Maggots and Ratlings, among
other things.
Prerequisites: -
Cost: 500xp

2.1 Character Generation Options 45

 Male Names
1d100
Roll
Primitive Informal Low Gothic High Gothic Archaic Techna Lingua
01-02 Arl Able Aubray Aloysius Alaric Adar
03-04 Artho Ainz Avitus Aphesius Aleksandr Alb
05-06 Arz Alt Barak Azararch Arkturas Antellos
07-08 Barik Bane Cain Baranoth Barbosa Bartolomus
09-10 Bron Barebone Canto Brutis Caradoc Bythos
11-12 Bruul Bones Dariel Callidon Casmirre Casmus
13-14 Carm Crisis Edmund Castus Constantine Castellar
15-16 Carno Cutta Elijah Cornelius Cortez Catotus
17-18 Dar Cutter Emil Darrien Cromwell Cyrol
19-20 Frak Dekko Enoch Davrus Dorn Dalton
21-22 Garak Dokk Frastus Drustos Draco Dol
23-24 Grish Echo Gaius Erioch Edward Drax
25-26 Gronk Ergs Galvinus Flavion Eizen Eremon
27-28 Hak Fanz Garvel Fortunus Ferris Fralix
29-30 Hob Flair Harlon Galliach Gilliam Gaelos
31-32 Horst Frag Hastus Gallus Grendal Garba
33-34 Imk Gant Ignace Haxtes Guilliman Hadron
35-36 Jarr Garrit Irlven Holt Haddon Hithes
37-38 Jart Gob Ishmael Ibram Havelock Irvix
39-40 Jorn Gorf Jace Intios Humphrey Jandon
41-42 Kaarl Grim Jaspar Jastilus Iacton Jhuston
43-44 Kar Gunner Jericus Kaltos Jaghatai Kappelax
45-46 Krell Hack Killian Karpath Jason Kappic
47-48 Kulem Hal Klightus Litilus Jenquin Kroll
49-50 Larl Hons Lazarus Lothos Johnstonne Mephon
51-52 Lok Jak Lucien Lupus Karlos Mojaro
53-54 Marn Lax Malakai Mallear Kennoch Nihil
55-56 Mir Lug Mithras Marius Khan Ondos
57-58 Mok Meng Mordecai Metalus Leman Pavese
59-60 Narl Mongrel Nathaniel Noctine Magnus Phylax
61-62 Orl Mord Nicodemus Novus Mercutio Protos
63-64 Pak Nast Piotr Octavius Mordecai Quietos
65-66 Phrenz Notch Pontius Partheos Naveen Ramos
67-68 Quarl Plex Quinten Praetus Neros Rhombor
69-70 Quin Rat Reestheus Quellus Oscarl Sator
71-72 Ragaa Reddin Rhaban Quintos Ossian Sigmus
73-74 Salc Ripper Roland Raltus Patronius Systic
75-76 Stig Rook Silvanto Ramalies Perrin Tov
77-78 Strang Sawyer Solomon Ravion Ramirez Thannek
79-80 Tarl Scab Teodor Regiam Romulus Tyr
81-82 Thak Serge Thaddius Severan Sigismund Unix
83-84 Thale Sham Titus Silon Torian Vector
85-86 Ulth Shanks Uriah Tauron Tybalt Vladimus
87-88 Varn Shiv Varnias Trantor Urial Wyller
89-90 Vin Skive Vorgen Tyruss Veknironth Xenon
91-92 Volc Skrag Walrond Venris Vern Xixos
93-94 Wrax Stern Xerxes Ventium Wolfe Yaekobus
95-96 Yarl Stubbs Yuriy Victus Wulfbald Yantor
97-98 Zek Torque Zacharias Xanatov Yorke Zeta
99-100 Ziel Wurm Zuriel Zarath Zarkov Zephram

46 2.1 Character Generation Options

 Female Names
1d100
Roll
Primitive Informal Low Gothic High Gothic Archaic Techna Lingua
01-02 Arla Alta Akadia Araleen Ada Adell
03-04 Attie Astra Balida Arnette Aenid Aleph
05-06 Bess Blanche Barbarella Atella Aennisse Artemia
07-08 Brulla Blaze Cecilia Brutilla Albia Azettal
09-10 Cil Blue Chaldia Callidia Anastasia Betta
11-12 Dara Calamity Cynthia Carnelia Bianca Bivara
13-14 Darl Cat Cyrine Dominique Boadicea Castella
15-16 Elphet Ceile Deatrix Drustilla Cimbria Corsiva
17-18 Flur Dame Diane Elleantra Devi Cyborrah
19-20 Fraal Echo Diona Ethelle Drusilla Delpha
21-22 Fraka Elle Dorah Ezmerelda Emilia Dheta
23-24 Garma Emma Elisabeta Fausta Eos Dorox
25-26 Grisha Fatal Ephrael Faydra Ephese Edical
27-28 Haka Flair Ethina Flavia Euphrati Eng
29-30 Halia Flame Faye Gallia Florenza Esau
31-32 Ing Flora Frennine Haxta Genevieve Ferra
33-34 Jarra Gamma Galatia Heras Gillian Fydel
35-36 Jessee Gold Genevie Intias Hannette Ghedda
37-38 Julla Grace Hannette Irissa Inez Iso
39-40 Kaarli Hack Isabella Janine Jemadar Ilia
41-42 Kal Halo Ishtar Jestilla Jezail Jysaiah
43-44 Kelle Jaine Jayne Jucinda Jocasta Karolinius
45-46 Krella Jet Jedia Kalta Joss Koriel
47-48 Lekka Katya Jinzia Litila Kadis Lephron
49-50 Marra Lady Judicca Lucindia Kaitlin Letta
51-52 Mira Lho Lidiah Lupa Kali Malovola
53-54 Narine Luna Liti Mallia Katarina Mhu
55-56 Narl Mae Lyra Marcella Lethe Niu
57-58 Nimm Mini Magdela Miriam Loraynne Omicra
59-60 Nulla Moll Narcia Mycandra Mae Osmia
61-62 Orla Nerva Natalia Noelle Megehra Phon
63-64 Paz Newt Odette Novianna Merica Qutelle
65-66 Phrix Plex Ophilia Nuella Millicent Rhy
67-68 Quali Poise Pennette Octia Miranda Reph
69-70 Ragaana Pris Phebia Praetia Miriam Sarnia
71-72 Ralle Rat Qualia Quintilla Nyota Sek
73-74 Rotha Red Quinzel Raltia Odessa Talsia
75-76 Russa Rosa Rhia Regina Orlean Thusdoria
77-78 Salia Ruby Salomis Scythia Pallas Turnet
79-80 Sulle Scarlet Sesslie Sila Plath Tyba
81-82 Tasso Sola Shandria Symonne Pollonia Unist
83-84 Thakka Tanda Thebe Tamarielle Rosalind Urotha
85-86 Thima Trenne Thesse Temetria Samara Virellan
87-88 Ultha Trix Thyratia Thallia Severine Virtua
89-90 Varna Val Urya Ursulla Tessera Vranna
91-92 Vas Violet Verita Venria Thiopia Xana
93-94 Vyn Xandra Veyda Wintre Tzarine Xipha
95-96 Yasha Xena Xandra Xanthia Verity Yanthos
97-98 Zanna Zedda Zadori Yemmise Yasta Zhu
99-100 Zekka Zel Ziapatra Zethina Zetkin Zyra

2.1 Character Generation Options 47

 2.2 Inquisitor Generation
“Some may question your right to destroy ten billion people. Those who understand realise that you have no right to let them live.”
-Exterminatus Extremis

To be an Inquisitor is to know tremendous power and responsibilities impossible to imagine. An Inquisitor acts not to save a world, or a sector, or
even the institutions of the Imperium; his actions are in the defence of humanity as a whole. He can condemn a world to death lest it contaminate
surrounding regions, or raze a hive to rubble to prevent a daemonic outbreak. He does these terrible deeds and more, for the only thing more dreadful
than such actions are the repercussions should he shy away from the immense burdens of his position. Inquisitors are separate from Mankind, for
they alone possess the strength to live with the awful truths of the 41st Millennium—that Mankind is beset on all sides by threats that may end its
existence, that the Warp harbours soul devouring Daemons, and that psykers may lead to the doom of humanity. Few minds can comprehend such
horrible knowledge; even Acolytes might not be fully aware of them, told only what their master deems necessary. Inquisitors not only know these
truths, but also act on them. They serve none but the Emperor of Mankind, and account for their actions to no one. Though an Inquisitor need not be
individually powerful in arms, his authority is supreme. Each is unique and fights to defend Mankind in his own manner, and without them humanity
would surely perish.
Unless one (or more) of the players is an Inquisitor, they should also create their Inquisitor, who functions as the GM’s character. It is possi-
ble the GM already has an Inquisitor in mind, complete with personality, methods of contact, and expectations for the warband. If not, such decisions
can be made as a group, or the GM can solicit details to aid in this creation. Unless the players are all experienced and agree to it, efforts should be
made to match the characters to their newly-crafted Inquisitor to create a smooth gaming experience. Depending on player experience, an Inquisitor
with his own unique personality and quirks can greatly enliven play. He might be overly haughty, contacting the Acolytes via dead drops and refusing
any actual contact with his minions. He might be secretive, never offering reasons or explanations for his directives, or he may be trusting and gregar-
ious to the point of suspicion as to his actual motives. He might even be forcing them into service, holding deadly blackmail or other threats to coerce
their actions, and hoping once they see the real threats that exist they develop true loyalty. With work, the Inquisitor can become more than another
NPC and become a full part of the group dynamic.

Starting Profile Creating the Inquisitor

All Inquisitors are extraordinarily competent, powerful, and wise men,
but despite their doubtlessly numerous accolades and accomplishments
they are only human, afterall. When creating an Inquisitor use the
“Master” level of play (alternatively, for a younger Inquisitor or recently
promoted Interrogator or Throne Agent the Adept level of play may be
used), as described in Section 2.0 “Character Creation Rules”.
The Emperor’s Command (Trait)
The extreme privilege granted by an Inquisitor’s rank is beyond the
wildest dreams of even the most avaricious and glory-seeking of Rogue
Traders. This great power allows them to acquire the command of
armies, enlist fleets of voidships, and demand sector-wide edicts.
To represent this unquestionable authority an Inquisitor can
use his Influence with all of the benefits of Profit Factor (including the
ability to Acquire voidships, structures, and supply chains) and without
the inherent drawback of Profit Factor’s inability to be used outside of its
owner’s commercial sphere of influence.
Roll once on each of the Age, Ordo, Title, Philosophy, and Psychic Abil-
ity tables. The creator may choose to have the Inquisitor be a Bound or
Unbound psyker at their option, but it should be noted that it is far more
likely for a puritan Inquisitor to be a Bound psyker, rather than being
Unbound. More radical Inquisitors can be of either variety, though those
who gain a “Heretic” result on the Quirks table are unlikely to be Bound
to the Emperor. A psychic Heretic Inquisitor is likely to be Unbound,
unless, of course, he has attracted the foul attentions of a Dark God, and
are bound to its service.
Roll 1d5-3 times (to a minimum of 1) on the Methodology ta-
ble, then roll 1d5-1 times (to a minimum of 1) on the Quirks table, lastly
roll 1d5+1 times on the Resources table. Once the Quirks and Resources
that the Inquisitor has have been determined roll on the appropriate tables
(if any) and then move on to the Finishing Touches.
Of course a GM may instead make choices from the options
provided, and if a player is creating the Inquisitor for his own use he
may, at the GM’s sanction, choose the desired options from the Age,
Ordo, Title, and Philosophy tables. The player may choose to have their
Inquisitor have no psychic ability, gain the Psychic Ability (Minor) result
for 800xp, or gain the Psychic Ability (Capable) for 2000xp. The creator
then chooses up to 2 results from the Methodology table, up to 2 results
form the Quirks table, and 3 choices from the Resources table. The cre-
ator may of course choose the result for any further tables that the Quirks
and Resources tables have him roll.

48 Nobody is innocent, there are merely varying levels of guilt.

 Inquisitor’s Age
1d100 Age
Description & Effects
Roll (In years)
Young The Inquisitor is young, by Inquisitorial standards.
01-10 (50 or younger) Effect: The Inquisitor gains +5 Strength, Toughness, and Agility
Middle-Aged At this age some Inquisitors commence rejuvenation treatments, whilst others prefer to appear their age
11-40 (51-90) Effect: The Inquisitor gains +5 to Intelligence, Perception and Willpower, +5 Influence
It is at this age Inquisitors will have established themselves, with a host of resources
Old
41-75 (91-150)
Effect: The Inquisitor loses -5 from Strength, Toughness, and Agility, but gains +10 to Intelligence, Percep-
tion, and Willpower, and +10 Influence
By now an Inquisitor may be (in)famous and have cemented their reputations.
Venerable
76-90 (151-250)
Effect: The Inquisitor loses -10 from Strength, Toughness, and Agility, but gains +15 to Intelligence, Percep-
tion, and Willpower, and +15 Influence
The upper limit is unknown, but it is expected some may reach several centuries old. Perhaps some obscure
techno-sorcery can even grant them a lifespan far longer than most. By now an Inquisitor may be (in)famous
Ancient
91-100 (250+)
and have cemented their reputations.
Effect: The Inquisitor loses -10 from Strength, Toughness, and Agility, but gains +20 to Intelligence, Percep-
tion and Willpower, and +25 Influence

Ordo Association
1d100
Ordo Description & Effects
Roll
The Inquisitor hunts daemonic influence and studies the warp. The smallest and most secretive of all the
Ordos Majoris.
01-20 Malleus
Effect: The Inquisitor gains 3 Ranks of the Forbidden Lore (Daemonology) Skill.
Acolytes of the Inquisitor gain 1 Rank of the same Skill -or- the Slayer of Daemons Talent.
The largest of the Ordos, an Inquisitor of the Hereticus seeks out mutants, traitors and rogue psykers across
the Imperium.
21-55 Hereticus
Effect: The Inquisitor gains 3 Ranks of the Forbidden Lore (Heresy) Skill.
Acolytes of the Inquisitor gain 1 Rank of the same Skill -or- the Scourge of Heretics Talent.
A guardian against aliens in their many guises, the Inquisitor is knowledgeable in alien physiology and lore.
56-80 Xeno
Effect: The Inquisitor gains 3 Ranks of the Forbidden Lore (Xenos) Skill.
Acolytes of the Inquisitor gain 1 Rank of the same Skill -or- the Hunter of Aliens Talent.
The Ordos Minoris cover a plethora of activities that could come under the jurisdiction of the larger Ordos,
but have been made into more specific departments to better combat a single threat. These Ordos are tiny in
comparison to the big three, and have nowhere near the influence or manpower as the larger Ordos. It is up to
the GM to determine whether an existing Ordo is used (Sicarius: Officio Assassinorum; Sepulturum: Chaotic/
Alien diseases; Obsoletus: everything that won’t fit in any other category such as ghost ships, Legion of the
81-90 Minoris
Damned, etc) or a new body is established, but it must seem plausible (e.g. Militum: Imperial Guard/Navy;
Illuminas: Psykers).

Effect: The Inquisitor gains 3 Ranks of any appropriate Forbidden Lore Skill.
Acolytes of the Inquisitor gain 1 Rank of the same Skill.
The Inquisitor has no Ordo affiliations, and may well be suspicious of the Holy Ordos themselves...
91-100 No Association
Effect: The Inquisitor gains 3 Ranks of the Forbidden Lore (Inquisition) Skill.
Acolytes of the Inquisitor gain 1 Rank of the same Skill.

2.2 Inquisitor Generation 49

 Inquisitor’s Titles
1d100
Title Description & Effects
Roll
Colonel, General, Major, Admiral, Captain, etc; all these and whatever else could be bestowed upon the Inquisitor as a title
owing to a previous career, an honorific granted by a particular institution or simply be of their own devising (and dreams
Military
01-10 Rank
of military glory?).
Effect: The Inquisitor gains the Good Reputation (Departmento Munitorum) Talent
Acolytes of the Inquisitor gain the Peer (Departmento Munitorum) Talent
Something related to the Inquisitor’s line of work, e.g. an Ordo Hereticus Inquisitor might be Witch-Finder, Witch-Hunter,
Ordo Colonel-of-Redemption, etc.
11-35 Specific Effect: The Inquisitor gains the Good Reputation (Inquisition) Talent
Acolytes of the Inquisitor gain the Peer (Inquisition) Talent
Steward, Custodian, Administrator, Governor and Castellan are all titles an Inquisitor may possess if they are in charge of a
particular facility, ideal for Inquisitors Historical or Theoretical that spend a lot of time in research archives at Inquisitorial
Facility
36-50 Title
strongholds, ‘holding down the fort’.
Effect: The Inquisitor gains ownership of a Hidden Base, Fortress, or planet (creator’s choice).
Acolytes of the Inquisitor may grant access to this facility and it’s facilities, if he deems them worthy.
Sir, Lord, Duke, Count, Boyar, Fürst, Emir, Sheikh, etc. are all titles that could be held in the Imperium, showing the In-
quisitor has either come from a noble line, could have been awarded it or has simply usurped it from a previous (no doubt
51-75 Nobility heretical and deceased) holder.
Effect: The Inquisitor gains the Good Reputation (Nobility) Talent
Acolytes of the Inquisitor gain the Peer (Nobility) Talent
This could be pretty much anything, as in nicknames or popular names granted by compatriots or enemies, and so are
usually informalities left out of official documentation. Examples include Psykerbane, Lucky, Warhound, Thrice-Blessed
76-90 Other or names ending in the end (such as the Invincible, the Pure, the Cursed, etc).
Effect: The Inquisitor gains +10 Influence
Acolytes of the Inquisitor gain +5 Influence
The Inquisitor’s only title is that, which should be scary enough!
91-100 None Effect: The Inquisitor loses -10 Influence
Acolytes of the Inquisitor lose -5 Influence

Inquisitor’s Psychic Ability

1d100 Description
Psychic Ability
Roll (+20 to roll if Ordo Malleus, may choose not to roll on table)
01-50 None No psionic ability exhibited.
Can exhibit and control minor abilities.
51-70 Minor
Effect: The Inquisitor gains the Psyker Trait and the Psy Rating (2) Talent. Additionally he gains an amount
of Psychic Powers equal to his Willpower Bonus from one Discipline.
Familiarity with a single discipline.
71-85 Capable
Effect: The Inquisitor gains the Psyker Trait and the Psy Rating (4) Talent. Additionally he gains an amount
of Psychic Powers equal to twice his Willpower Bonus from one Discipline.
Comfortable with one or more psi-disciplines.

86-98 Talented Effect: The Inquisitor gains the Psyker Trait and the Psy Rating (6) Talent. Additionally he gains an amount
of Psychic Powers equal to three times his Willpower Bonus that may be from a number of Disciplines equal
to half his Intelligence Bonus.
Amongst the most powerful psykers the Inquisition possesses.
99-100 Master
Effect: The Inquisitor gains the Psyker Trait and the Psy Rating (8) Talent. Additionally he gains all Psychic
Powers from a number of Disciplines up to his Intelligence Bonus.

50 2.2 Inquisitor Generation

 Inquisitor’s Purity
1d100
Purity Description & Effects
Roll
The most hard-line of Inquisitors, their faith in the Emperor is unshakeable. Monodominants dominate this category,
with their hatred of anything not born pure human, pouring derision and hatred upon psykers, mutants and abhu-
mans in equal measure to aliens and warp creatures.
Fiery
01-20 Puritan Effect: The Inquisitor gains +20 Insanity Points, +10 Weapon Skill -or- Ballistic Skill, as well as the Hatred (as
appropriate), Inspire Wrath, Purity of Hatred, and Firebrand’s Call Talents.
Acolytes of the Inquisitor gain +10 Insanity Points, +5 Weapons Skill -or- Ballistic Skill, as well as the Hatred (as
appropriate) and Purity of Hatred Talents.
These Inquisitors understand the place of psykers and mutants is one of servitude, and that they should be made to
understand their inferiority. These are Puritans that acknowledge psychic benefits.
Temperate
21-40 Puritan
Effect: The Inquisitor gains +10 Insanity Points, +5 Weapons Skill -or- Ballistic Skill, as well as the Hatred (as
appropriate) and Purity of Hatred Talents.
Acolytes of the Inquisitor gain +5 Insanity Points, +3 Weapons Skill -or- Ballistic Skill, as well as the Hatred (as
appropriate) Talent.
Inquisitors of a moderate bent are neither frothing fanatics nor entirely skeptical figures, preferring the middle path
in their investigations. They do not condone the use of non-Imperial weaponry, but they are not big on mass burn-
ings at the stake either.
41-60 Moderate
Effect: The Inquisitor gains +5 Insanity and Corruption Points, +5 Weapon Skill -or- Ballistic Skill, +5 Intelligence,
and 2 Ranks of Forbidden Lore (as appropriate) Skill.
Acolytes of the Inquisitor gain +3 Insanity and Corruption Points, +3 Weapons Skill -or- Ballistic Skill, +3 Intelli-
gence, as well as 1 Rank of the Forbidden Lore (as appropriate) Skill.
The Inquisitor utilises a xeno-pistol, or makes use of beastmen in their retinue. To some this seems a slippery slope,
but it is entirely justified by these Inquisitors as minor interactions with what others see as tainted.
Moderate
61-80 Radical
Effect: The Inquisitor gains +10 Corruption Points, +5 Intelligence, 3 Ranks of Forbidden Lore (as appropriate)
Skill, and the Ambassador Imperialis Talent.
Acolytes of the Inquisitor gain +5 Corruption Points, +3 Intelligence, as well as 1 Rank of the Forbidden Lore (as
appropriate) Skill.
Daemon weapons and alien allies are legitimate means of persecuting the enemies of mankind to this Inquisitor. Of
course, to the rest of the Inquisition, the Extreme Radical is an enemy of mankind.
Extreme
81-100 Radical
Effect: The Inquisitor gains +20 Corruption Points, +10 Intelligence, 4 Ranks of Forbidden Lore (as appropriate)
Skill, and the Ambassador Imperialis and Talented Forbidden Lore (as appropriate) Talents.
Acolytes of the Inquisitor gain +10 Corruption Points, +5 Intelligence, 2 Ranks of Forbidden Lore (as appropriate)
Skill, and the Ambassador Imperialis Talent.

2.2 Inquisitor Generation 51

 Inquisitor’s Methodology
1d100 Methodology Description
Roll (in Low Gothic)
Will go to any length to achieve their goal, no matter the moral
Finis Est Licitus Etiam Media
01-05 (The end justifies the means)
implications of blackmailing colleagues, murdering innocents or even selling their
own soul!
Fidei Vincit Omnia Their faith is a very important part of who this Inquisitor is, whatever it may be,
06-10 (Faith conquers all) making them unflinching in their personal convictions.
Semper Eadem Most likely an Amalathian, it is understood that the status quo should be main-
11-15 (Always the same) tained, or that it is far too difficult to change.
Qui Vixit Bene Vivit Subterfuge and trickery can be valuable tools, something known to this character.
16-20 (He lives well who lives unnoticed) Henchmen will often perform their operations as they watch from the shadows.
Facta Non Verba Thinking can be a virtue, but then again it wastes valuable time that could be spent
21-25 (Deeds not words) in purgation.
Per Virtutem Scientia Know thine enemy, for you are known to him already.
26-30 (Power through knowledge) The first tenet of the Ordo Xenos.
Nihil Est Super Legem Title and affiliation are nothing to this Inquisitor, to whom before their lord and
31-35 (No man is above the law) master all are equal. May persecute other Inquisitors they think have strayed.
Victoriam Vult Accurata Praeparatione
An intricate planner, often someone that will weave cunning webs
36-40 Gaudeant
before striking a precise blow at their enemy’s heart.
(Victory likes careful preparation)
Venit Ad Lucem Tenebras Istvaanian in nature, belief in great achievements after terrible conflict. May inten-
41-45 (After the dark comes light) tionally incite warfare and civil strife.
Virtute Laborem Nascitur Every experience is a learning experience, even if that experience will test the met-
46-50 (Virtue is born in hardship) tle of body and soul. If something’s worth doing, it’s worth doing the hard way!
Etiamsi Fueris Turpis Hie Salvus Erit The Inquisitor believes everyone, no matter how base and vile their sins, can be
51-55 (Be saved even though you are filthy) redeemed whether in this life or the next. Most often the latter.
Et Per Arte Belli The more you bleed in training, the less you’ll have to bleed in
56-60 (By skill and by fighting) battle, seems an ideal motto for the more martially-inclined.
In Me Vero Et Religionis
Scepticism has no place in an Empire of Faith, and all matters great
61-65 Habeat Fiduciam
and small are decided by religious trials and the Emperor’s Tarot.
(In the truth of religion I trust)
Nulli Cede Never surrendering, no matter the odds and reality of the situation,
66-70 (Yield to none) make this character a stubborn and uncompromising individual.
Officium Primus Duty is everything to some people, taking precedence over all other aspects of their
71-75 (Duty First) life. Sense of a task well done and accomplishment of duty is all to this person.
In Omni Rei Audaciam Constantly challenging authority, popular beliefs and often common sense. When
76-80 (In all things daring) successful, it is most impressive, unfortunately success is often not guaranteed.
Periculam In Mora Knowing all too well that to hesitate for a moment could sign the death warrant of
81-85 (Danger in delay) an entire world, informed haste as opposed to blind speed is their watchword.
Quo Fata Ducunt Not possessing an overly rigid scheme or plan, whatever events
86-90 (Whither the fates lead) may arise are wherever this figure shall head.
Mea Vita Divinis Obsequiis Mancipatur To whatever cause they have pledged themselves, this character
91-95 (My life is devoted) will be unflinching in its execution above all other things.
Parcere Virgae ...is to spoil the child. Constant assessment and testing of acolytes
95-100 (To spare the rod...) and just about everyone else is one of the top priorities of this Inquisitor.

52 2.2 Inquisitor Generation

 Quirks of the Inquisitor
Inquisitors are often strange or eccentric individuals, having unique character traits all their own. The following roll table allows the GM to add some
colour, past entanglements, and general uniqueness to their Inquisitor. Roll on the Quirks of the Inquisitor table 1d5-1 times, or until satisfied to
create an appropriate array of quirks.
1d100
Roll
Quirks Description & Effects
Severely The Inquisitor is not entirely there, as years of service or possibly a well-placed blow have taken their toll on their sanity.
01-02 Unhinged Effect: The Inquisitor gains +20 Insanity Points.
Either through personal choice or cruel fate, the Inquisitor is covered in bionic implants and replacements.
Heavily
03-04 Augmented
Effect: The Inquisitor gains +5 Toughness and an amount of bionics and cybernetics up to twice his Toughness Bonus (favouring
Implant Systems and Bionic Replacements over Bio-Implants).
Without a psychic presence at all, the Inquisitor is a psychic blank,
05 Untouchable and follows all rules for Untouchables. Ignore any previous psychic abilities.
Effect: The Inquisitor gains +10 Willpower and the Untouchable Elite Advance
Never revealing themselves, either through a mask or by relaying
Always
06-07 Masked
orders from behind a barrier or vox-communicator, the Inquisitor’s appearance is a mystery.
Effect: The Inquisitor gains a Rank of the Inquiry and Intimidate Skills and an item or piece of technology to amply hide their face.
Nobody knows much, but everybody’s heard the sinister rumours.
08-11 Shady Past Effect: The Inquisitor gains +10 Influence, two Ranks of Scrutiny, and the Friends in Low Places Talent.
Well-known throughout the Sector, either for heroic deeds or less inspiring acts.
12-15 Infamous Effect: The Inquisitor gains +10 Influence and the Rival (any) and Peer (any) Talents.
The Inquisitor’s personal mannerisms are nothing short of charming, and it is rather difficult to resist his wit.
16-17 Charismatic Effect: The Inquisitor gains +5 Fellowship, 2 Ranks of the Charm Skill, and the Eloquent Talent.
Sometimes, they may really be out to get you. Other times, this
18-20 Paranoid Inquisitor finds they’ve just stabbed their harmless butler.
Effect: The Inquisitor gains +10 Perception, +10 Insanity Points, and the Paranoid Talent.
Some power has granted the Inquisitor visions, of the future, the past or hidden items.
21 Visions This could be a blessing from the Emperor, one of his Saints, or something more malign.
Effect: The Inquisitor gains the Knowledge Supreme Talent.
Terran The Inquisitor has been to Holy Terra, and this influences their behaviour and their usual topic of conversation.
22-24 Pilgrim Effect: The Inquisitor gains +20 Fate and the Pure Faith Talent

Hidden Knowledge is power, hide it well. Nobody seems to know this Inquisitor’s true affiliation.
25-29 Philosophy Effect: The Inquisitor gains 2 Ranks of the Deceive Skill.

Outward Knowledge is power, use it to smite the enemy! Everybody is sick of hearing about this Inquisitor’s affiliation.
30-33 Philosophy Effect: The Inquisitor gains 2 Ranks of the Intimidate -or- Command Skill.
The finer things in life such as banquets and well-tailored suits are greatly appreciated by this Inquisitor.
34-35 Lavish Effect: For better or for worse the Inquisitor will largely only
Acquire things of a Good or better Craftsmanship, unless it is of the utmost necessity.
Austerity is ever this Inquisitor’s watchword, and the sins of the material world must be guarded against lest heresy spring from their
sweet embrace!
36-37 Spartan Effect: For better or for worse the Inquisitor will largely only Acquire things of a Standard or Poor Craftsmanship, unless it is of the
utmost necessity
This Inquisitor is exceptionally distrusting of technology and the dangers it represents to Mankind. Along with this he also fosters a
healthy distrust in those who make the knowledges of the machine their livelihood.
38-39 Luddite Effect: The Inquisitor gains the Enemy (Mechanicus) (replacing any positive social Talents for the Mechanicus with a different
group) and Hatred (Hereteks) Talents, and cannot gain the Tech-Use Skill (replacing Ranks in the Skill with a different Skill).
Due to excellent concealment of the mutation from their earliest days,
or owing to chemical or warp exposure, the Inquisitor is mutated!
40 Mutant Effect: The Inquisitor gains a random Minor Mutation, and will go to great ends to hide or remove it. Even something as extreme as
surgery or amputation is a valid option for a dire corruption of the flesh.
Through psychic indoctrination, implanted cybernetics or some other means, the Inquisitor does not sleep, though they will most
Doesn’t
41-42 Sleep
likely require some form of rest through drugs, virtual reality headsets, etc.
Effect: The Inquisitor gains +10 Perception and the Combat Sense Talent.

The Inquisitor’s religious leanings are at odds with the Ministorum,

Unsanctioned
43-44 Beliefs
they may be an atheist or worship the Emperor in an unusual manner.
Effect: The Inquisitor gains +10 Corruption, 2 Ranks of the Deceive Skill, as well as the Enemy (Ecclesiarchy) Talent.

The Inquisitor has a penchant for artwork, ancient technologies or

45-46 Collector little toy soldiers, etc. They take great pride in their collection.
Effect: The Inquisitor gains a Best Craftsmanship Trophy Room Component.

2.2 Inquisitor Generation 53

 Quirks of the Inquisitor
1d100
Roll
Quirks Description & Effects
This Inquisitor is often at the head of purgations, if not physicallythen via vox-net or telepathically.
His words inspire those he commands to sell their lives quite dearly.
47-48 Commander Effect: The Inquisitor gains +5 Fellowship, 2 Ranks of the Command Skill, as well as the Master Orator (or the Grand Orator if he
already has Master Orator), Heroic Inspiration, and the Galvanizing Presence Talents.
Due to previous naval service, being born into a Rogue Trader family, inheirtance, or other extenuating circumstances
Master of the Inquisitor is exceedingly familiar with voidships and their operation.
51-52 the Void Effect: The Inquisitor automatically gains the Voidship Resource
(taking up one of his Resource rolls), as well as 2 Ranks of the Operate (Voidship) Skill.
The finest and rarest of wines, weapons and works of art, amongst other things, are well known to the Inquisitor.
53-54 Connoisseur Effect: The Inquisitor gains a supply chain of High Provender
Possessed by a daemonic creature, the Inquisitor managed to banish the beast from their mortal shell. This makes the Inquisitor
55 Exorcised more resistant to the allure of the Ruinous powers and their vile servants.
Effect: The Inquisitor gains the effects of the Exorcised Touched By The Warp Option
Artistic Cooking, painting or music are all possible avenues of exploration for the talented artist.
56-57 Talent Effect: The Inquisitor gains 2 Ranks of either the Trade (Illuminator) -or Trade (Performer) -or- Trade (Chef) Skill.
The Inquisitor is injured in some fashion, from something so grave even the surgeons of the Collegia Medicae
58-60 Injury are unable to restore them to full health to just an impressive set of scars.
Effect: Make a roll on the Past Injury Table for the Inquisitor.
A vile malady racks the Inquisitor’s body.
61-62 Illness Effect: Make a roll on the Illness Table for the Inquisitor
Either through chemical treatment, personal choice or battlefield injury, the character foregoes pleasures of the flesh.
63-64 Celibacy Effect: The Inquisitor gains +5 Willpower and the Chem Geld Talent.
Alcohol and illegal substances are a few ways to escape the harsh realities of the 41st Millennium, and even Inquisitors desire a bit
65-66 Dependency of release now and again. Unfortunately, the Inquisitor is now addicted to whatever drug the player chooses.
Effect: The Inquisitor gains an addiction, but also a supply chainof the drug that he is addicted to.
Arch The Inquisitor has acquired themselves a powerful, and dangerously capable sworn enemy.
67-68 Nemesis Effect: Create a suitable Nemesis (using the rules in Section 12.4 “Nemeses”) for the Inquisitor
The Inquisitor has studied many variants of Low Gothic, is a master of High Gothic,
Linguistic
69-70 Master
Effect: The Inquisitor gains +10 Intelligence, 3 Ranks of Linguistics (Low Gothic, High Gothic), 2 Ranks of any other
Linguistics Skill, as well as the Polyglot and Unparalleled Proficiency Talents.
The Inquisitor may enjoy debating philosophy or theology, or then again they take a keen interest in
Other
71-77 Interests
ship-building and can name and identify every bolt, wire and bulkhead in a voidship.
Effect: The Inquisitor gains 3 Ranks of a single Scholastic Lore or Trade Skill.
The Inquisitor will not speak with others directly. They may communicate through an elaborate sign language,
78-79 Mute an interpreter, telepathy or MIU-linked speaker-skulls or quill-skulls.
Either through misfortune of birth, plastic surgery or misfortune in the line of duty, the Inquisitor is horribly ugly.
80-81 Grotesque Effect: The Inquisitor loses -1d5+5 Fellowship, and gains 2 Ranks of the Intimidate Skill.
The Inquisitor is very attractive. They may exploit this to its full advantage.
82-83 Attractive Effect: The Inquisitor gains 1d5+5 Fellowship and a Rank of the Charm Skill.
There is a named weapon the Inquisitor considers unlucky to enter battle without.
Favoured
84-85 Weapon
Effect: The Inquisitor gains a Weapon Training, Weapon Expertise, and Weapon Mastery Talents as well as
an appropriate weapon to use it with, of at least Best Craftsmanship.
Some poor unfortunate person, organisation or species is the focus of the Inquisitor’s intense hatred, for whatever reason.
86-87 Hatred Effect: The Inquisitor gains the Hatred (Choose One) and Inspire Wrath Talents.
The pain of others brings satisfaction to the Inquisitor.
88-89 Sadist Effect: The Inquisitor gains +5 Toughness and the Desperate Strength Talent
A past associate or colleague has been found guilty of heresy, and
Damned by
90-91 Association
by extension the suspicions of the Inquisitor’s peers has fallen upon them.
Effect: The Inquisitor gains +3 Corruption.
Possibly deeply traumatic to the Inquisitor, or it could have hardened their resolve against a particular foe.
An experience they do not want to repeat!
92-93 Tortured Effect: The Inquisitor gains 1 Rank of Scrutiny, as well as the
Orthoproxy, Operative Conditioning, and Resistance (Interrogation) Talents.

54 2.2 Inquisitor Generation

 Quirks of the Inquisitor
1d100
Roll
Quirks Description & Effects
94-95 Family The Inquisitor has found the time to start a family.

Heretical The Inquisitor’s mentor fell to the whispers of heretical thought.

96 Mentor Effect: The Inquisitor gains +10 Corruption Points.

Heretical One of the Inquisitor’s past students went heretical.

97 Pupil Effect: The Inquisitor gains +5 Corruption Points.
Not so unusual in the Inquisition, this particular figure wants to climb the ladder of political power,
Political
98 Aspirations
either for themselves or the righteousness of their philosophy.
Effect: The Inquisitor gains 2 Ranks of the Commerce, Inquiry, and Logic Skill each.
Quite a
99 Character
Roll twice more on this table.

Having fallen away from their creed to protect Mankind in favour of new masters, or else having found a “better” way to serve the
God-Emperor this Inquisitor now works against common sense and the vast majority of other members of the Inquisition and
100 Heretic Imperium. Few follow such a path without eventually being declared Excommunicate Traitoris,
and sentenced to a gruesome, exemplary death.
Effect: The Inquisitor gains 2 Ranks of the Deceive Skill, and must make a roll on the Heretic Table.

Heretic
An Inquisitor with the Heretic Quirk is inevitably in dire spiritual and moral straits, but this may not be known to the wider Inquisition. Unless the
creator deems it to be necessary to the story an Inquisitor with a Heretic Quirk is not openly a Heretic to begin with. Once this is discovered, how-
ever, he immediately gains the Hunted (Inquisition) Talent, as there are few things more dangerous to the Imperium than a rogue Inquisitor. If the
Inquisitor generated a “Heretic” result on the Quirks of the Inquisitor table then roll a 1d100 on the following table.
1d100
Heresy Description & Effects
Roll
Declared a heretic by their comrades, this Inquisitor is hunted by their peers for any number of reasons; killing a fellow Inquisitor,
Carta
01-40 Extremis
excessive displays of force or an unnecessary Exterminatus.
Effect: The Inquisitor gains +40 Insanity Points (to a maximum of 80).
The Inquisitor has been tempted into the worship of the dark gods of Chaos.
Ruinous Effect: The Inquisitor now counts as a Heretic, gaining an Infamy equal to half his Influence, and changing his Corruption to half of
41-55 Powers its current value. If this pushes him over any Corruption Thresholds he rolls for a Reward as usual. Choose a Dark God appropriate to
the Inquisitor’s particular mien.
The Inquisitor has been deceived by the lies of the alien. Whether this was by the perfidious Eldar, the eldritch Star-Gods, the immor-
tal Necrons, or even the foundling Tau. Now he has pledged himself to their heretical beliefs and serves them, and will lead those he
Deluded by
56-70 the Alien
commands into similar damnation if allowed to.
Effect: The Inquisitor gains the Peer (Appropriate Xeno Race) and will act in these alien’s best interests. He may also use weapons of
his new master’s design if the creator wishes.
The Inquisitor sees the Ecclesiarchy as the bane of Mankind, a binding ideology that only drives the Imperium further into the morass
it has sunk into over the last 5,000 years. He aims to destroy the faith and disillusion it’s followers however he can.
71-80 Apostate Effect: The Inquisitor gains +30 Corruption, 3 Ranks of Charm, Command, Deceive, or Intimidate Skill and the Hunted (Ecclesiar-
chy), Dark Oratory, and Master Orator Talents.
In order to gain power and influence, even if it was for the good of the Imperium, the Inquisitor has forfeited his or her soul with a
daemonic pact.
81-90 Dark Pact Effect: The Inquisitor is the beneficiary of a Dark Pact with a powerful daemon. The pact’s boons are up to the GM to determine, but
the Price for this pact is Fealty.
Due to personal vendetta, Istvaanian ideals, or xenos influence, the Inquisitor’s true aim is to cause as much damage to the Imperium
Trojan
91-97 Horse
as possible while maintaining the guise of servitude.
Effect: The Inquisitor gains 2 Ranks of the Deceive Skill and +10 Influence.
The Inquisitor is actually a sleeper-agent awaiting activation, but from who? Impersonation of an Inquisitor is considered high here-
sy!
98 Infil-Traitor Effect: The Inquisitor counts as being under the effects of the Reprogram Telepathy Psychic Power (see Section 7.8 “Telepathy
Discipline” for more details on the power’s function). Who did this and why is up to the the GM.
Through cunning deceptions, forbidden sciences, psionic powers, or baffling biological abilities (such as those exhibited by the
Lacrymole or the Simulacra), the Inquisitor is not at all human and is but masquerading about as a human, for whatever dire purpose
99 Inhuman it has in mind.
Effect: The Inquisitor gains 3 Ranks of a Forbidden Lore Skill relating to his true identity, as well as 3 Ranks of the Deceive Skill,
and the Talented (Deceive) Talent. If his true nature is discovered he gains the Fear (2) Trait against those whom it is revealed to.
The Inquisitor is puppeted by a vile entity of the Warp, abusing the Inquisitor’s authority and power to do as it pleases.
100 Daemonhost Effect: Choose or generate an appropriately strong non-bestial daemon (Herald or above) and treat it as possessing the Inquisitor.

2.2 Inquisitor Generation 55

 Illness
Given their nature to be well-travelled, and given the foes they may fight, it is quite possible for an Inquisitor to contract a vile illness, and rarely one
that can be dehabilitating, if not outright terminal. If the Inquisitor generated an “Illness” result on the Quirks of the Inquisitor table then roll a 1d100
on the following table. Further rules on illnesses can be found in Section 10.4 "Diseases & Infections".
1d100
Diagnosis Description & Effects
Roll
Hacking
01-20 Cough
A nasty cough.

An alien virus.
21-40 Xenovirus
Effect: The Inquisitor gains a Disease (generate a Disease with the Random Disease Generator).
Eyerot, Catachan Sloughing Fever
Debilitating
41-60 Illness
Effect: The Inquisitor gains a Disease with a Virulence Rating of at least 2 and a Damage of at least 1d10, generate the
rest of its characteristics using the Random Disease generator from Section 10.4 Diseases & Infections.
St Basil’s Spineblight, Tyranid Spore-Cysts, malignant tumours, etc.
Terminal
61-80 Illness
Effect: The Inquisitor gains a permanent Disease (VR:3, Inc: 1 Month, Dam: T, 1d5). The Inquisitor must make a -30
Toughness Test or permanently lose 1d5 Toughness every month.
Warp The Obliterator Virus is the most famous of such illnesses
81-99 Tainted Effect: The Inquisitor gains a Disease (generate a Disease with the Random Disease Generator, it must do Corruption
Malady Damage as part of it’s Damage Dealt).
Far and away the worst disease to curse the materium.
100 Nurgle’s Rot Effect: The Inquisitor gains a Disease (VR:4, Inc: 1 Week, Dam: T & Corr, Dam: 2d5). This disease is quite infectious
and if the bearer reaches 100 Corruption they are turned into a horrid Lesser Daemon of Nurgle.

Past Injury
In the course of their inquests an Inquisitor is often called upon to fight his foes in person, though some times the vagaries of fate are such that a
terrible accident may well provide a crippling injury. If the Inquisitor generated a “Past Injury” result on the Quirks of the Inquisitor table then roll a
1d100 on the following table.
1d100
Injury Description & Effects
Roll
Impressive From duelling or battle
01-10 Scars Effect: The Inquisitor gains +5 Weapon Skill -or- Ballistic Skill and 1 Rank of the Intimidate Skill.
Some scars, while not debilitating, are forever. If prominently visible, the Inquisitor automatically gains the ‘Masked’
Grotesque
11-20 Scars
quirk.
Effect: The Inquisitor loses 1d5+5 Fellowship but gains the Fear (+1) Trait, and a Rank of the Intimidate Skill.
Lost a The Inquisitor lost an ear, finger or perhaps even his nose. Bio-grafting should be possible.
21-40 Minor Body Effect: The Inquisitor loses 1d5 Weapon Skill, Ballistic Skill, Fellowship, or Agility unless the creator deems that he
Part would have a bionic or vat-grown replacement.
Leg or arm. Cybernetics may be required.
41-60 Lost a Limb Effect: Roll a Hit Location until a random Arm or Leg is determined. That limb is lost and is replaced by a Good
Craftsmanship bionic replacement or a vat-grown replacement.
A punctured lung, perhaps. Cybernetics or cloned organs definitely required. Even fixed, the pain lingers.
Lost an
61-80 Organ
Effect: The Inquisitor loses a random internal organ and has it replaced by either a vat-grown replacement or a bionic
replacement (namely a Bionic Respiratory System, Bionic Heart, or Gastral Bionics)
Unable to move some/all limbs. The damage may be such that no surgery can repair it.
Effect: Roll a 1d5. Starting from his legs upward this is the amount of locations that the Inquisitor loses the ability
to control. The damage is enormously difficult to remove, and, if it includes the Body Hit Location, means that some
81-99 Paralyzed organs and parts will likely need replacing, and vat-grown replacements are not an option. Entirely replacing the limbs
with bionic replacements is possible, and replacing his lungs and gastral system (with a Bionic Respiratory System
and Gastral Bionics respectively) is likely to be necessary.

The Inquisitor is on permanent life support.

Effect: The Inquisitor is effectively brain-dead or incapable of any autonomic functions, and if he is to live and per-
100 Broken
form as an Inquisitor once more he will need severe intervention along with medical and technological expertise. An
extreme procedure, such as a Cybernetic Resurrection or the Rite of Setesh may have been needed to keep him alive.

56 2.2 Inquisitor Generation

 Inquisitorial Resources
An Inquisitor’s word is law, and his authority is limitless, but without tools to enforce such limitless power his authority would be much less lim-
itless. Often an Inquisitor will have resources, agents, and other utilities that are of use to him in the moment, but it is rare indeed if he has not a
favoured set of implements to enact his schemes with, Roll on the Inquisitorial Resources table 1d5+1 times, or until satisfied to determine what the
Inquisitor’s chief weapons against heresy are.
1d100
Resource Description & Effects
Roll
The Inquisitor is well-connected, and can call upon various organisations to assist them, be it the might of an Astartes Chapter or
01-20 Ties With... the unique skills of an Administratum archivist.
Effect: The Inquisitor gains Roll on the ‘Ties With’ Table.
The Inquisitor maintains a privately acquired body of troops.
21-30 Personal Army Effect: The Inquisitor gains the benefits of a roll on the “Personal Army” table.
The infamous black ships of the Inquisition are but one facet of the mysterious organization’s naval powers, and indeed their
most commonly associated form. The truth is that no few vessels are in the possession or direct control of the Inquisition without
sporting their colours or iconography publicly. Any manner of ship can suit an Inquisitor’s needs, from a lowly merchant vessel
31-47 Voidship up to the greatest of battlecruisers, for of great depth and variety are the machinations of the Holy Ordos.
Effect: The Inquisitor gains the ownership of a voidship of the creator’s choosing, constructing it as per the rules of Section 9.0
“Voidships” with a Ship Points budget equal to his Influence (as per the The Emperor’s Command Trait).
Ancient relics of holy significance are carried about by the Inquisitor’s staff, or are kept in a secure vault at the Inquisitor’s base
48 Reliquary of operations.
Effect:
The Inquisitor possesses a dedicated group of hypnmo-indoctrinated, psionically persuaded, or otherwise fanatically loyal group
Courtier of socialites, whom he disperses as necessary, that he might be informed of the goings on in various strata of Imperial society.
49 Corps Effect: The Inquisitor gains a Standard Human Horde Follower, with an emphasis on Fellowship, Charm, Deception, and Inquiry.
If he deems them worthy the Inquisitor may allow his Acolytes to utilize them.
Ancient and baroque machinery has been unearthed by the Inquisitor from humanity’s past. Who knows what it could do?
50 Archeotech Effect: The Inquisitor gains an Archeotech Treasure (either randomly generated or of the GM’s contrivance).
The Inquisitor has a retinue of lexmechanics, archivists and savants to sift through data and bring their considerable knowledge
to use.
51-55 Archivists Effect: The Inquisitor gains a Standard Human Horde Follower, with an emphasis on Intelligence, Common Lore, Forbidden
Lore, Scholastic Lore, and Logic.
If he deems them worthy the Inquisitor may allow his Acolytes to utilize them.
Animal
56-58 Familiar
Everything from a favoured grox to cyber-mastiffs and psiber ravens.
Effect: The Inquisitor gains a Greater Bestial Follower.
This could be a sanctioned telekine or an untouchable, astropaths and even navigators could be included here.
Psionic Effect: The Inquisitor gains a Greater Human Follower who must have the Navigator, Psyker, or Untouchable Trait. If he is of a
59-61 Resource specifically radical bent this can (with GM sanction) be a Greater Daemonic Follower instead.
If he deems them worthy the Inquisitor may allow his Acolytes to utilize them.
Not Ordo Assassinorum trained, nevertheless still well-trained and motivated killers.
Effect: The Inquisitor gains a Standard Human Horde Follower, with an emphasis on Weapon Skill or Ballistic Skill, Dodge or
62-63 Assassins Parry, and the killing arts.
If he deems them worthy the Inquisitor may allow his Acolytes to utilize them.
A world is governed by the Inquisitor, perhaps under martial law or as a fief for them to conduct experiments/raise warriors.
64 Planet Effect: Generate a planet, colony, and colonial representative. The assets of this world are at the disposal of the Inquisitor, and if
he deems them worthy, the Inquisitor may allow his Acolytes to utilize them.
The Inquisitor has influential friends in high places, such as nobles, politicians, and member of the sector’s government.
Well Effect: The Inquisitor gains an amount of Contacts equal to half his Fellowship Bonus (with the Individual, Talent (Excessive
Wealth), Reduce Availability (All, 1), and Trusted Attributes). Note that the Inquisitor or GM may increase their benefits for
65-70 Established the appropriate xp costs, and that these Contacts are supposed to represent powerful politicians and nobilites, so some thought
Friends should be put into their further benefits and personalities.
If he deems them worthy the Inquisitor may allow his Acolytes to utilize them.
A loyal companion, always close by and ready with a loaded weapon and a dry, witty comment.
71-75 Manservant Effect: The Inquisitor gains a Greater Human Follower who must have the maximum amount of Ranks of the Trade (Valet) Skill.
A library of all manner of information is maintained by the Inquisitor, ranging on texts from all manner of fields of study.
76-80 Huge Archives Effect: The Inquisitor gains a Best Craftsmanship Librarium Vault Component.
The Inquisitor keeps proscribed texts.
Forbidden Effect: The Inquisitor gains an amount of books equal to half his Intelligence Bonus. The books are each of Best Craftsmanship
81-83 Tomes and must all have at least one Forbidden Lore as part of their contents.
(For rules regarding the creation of “new” books see Section 5.7 “Books & Documents”)
A suit of terminator armour, the carapace of a saint or maybe something alien.
Special Effect: The Inquisitor gains either a suit of Good Craftsmanship powered armour (light, standard, or terminator) or a Master
84-85 Armour Craftsmanship suit of any other type of armour. Whichever his choice the armour also gains the maximum amount of Modifica-
tions it can take.

2.2 Inquisitor Generation 57

 Inquisitorial Resources
1d100
Resource Description & Effects
Roll
This could be Ordo-specific, such as a Daemonhammer, or a master-crafted power sword that is a great relic.
Effect: The inquisitor gains a single weapon of choice of up to Near Unique in Availability. If it is Near Unique it is of Best
Special
86 Weaponry
Craftsmanship, if it is Extremely Rare it is of Exceptional Craftsmanship, and if it is Very Rare or more common it is of Master
Craftsmanship. The weapon also gains the maximum amount of Modifications it can take. If it is a ranged weapon it may have
whatever Special Ammunition that the Inquisitor’s creator wishes.
No few Inquisitors have need of secret locations that do not appear on any map, whether it is maintained for intimate interroga-
87-88 Hidden Base tion or simply remote surveillance.
Effect: The Inquisitor gains the benefits of a roll on the Hidden Base table.
A great and intimidating fortress from which he sends forth his henchmen and edicts is a very favourable piece of property for
89-90 Fortress the bolder members of the Inquisition.
Effect: The Inquisitor gains the benefits of a roll on the Fortress table.
Infil-traitors and double-agents feed the Inquisitor information from across the Sector.
Spy Effect: The Inquisitor gains a Standard Human Horde Follower, with an emphasis on Agility, Fellowship, Deceive, Inquiry, and
91 Network Stealth.
If he deems them worthy the Inquisitor may allow his Acolytes to utilize them.
In case of any hideous injuries the Inquisitor sustains, the surgeon is on hand to fit bionics, perform plastic surgery, and to turn
his scalpel on captured heretics when needs be.
Expert
92 Surgeon
Effect: The Inquisitor gains a Greater Human Follower who must have the maximum Intelligence Characteristic possible, as well
as the highest possible amount of Ranks of Medicae and Interrogation.
If he deems them worthy the Inquisitor may allow his Acolytes to utilize them.
While strength of will and incorruptibility are key for protecting one’s mind and soul, the appearance of a menacing mass of
Expert
93-95 Bodyguards
loyal henchmen and warriors does wonders to protect one’s corporeal form.
Effect: The Inquisitor gains the benefits of a roll on the Expert Bodyguards table.
Somebody, somewhere, owes the Inquisitor big time. This could be anything from a life debt to blackmail.
96-97 Huge Favour Effect: The Inquisitor gains a Contact worth 1000xp. He may burn this contact once without losing it.
The Inquisitor has dominion of a research facility, which could be for anything and may be Ordo-specific.
Research Effect: Generate a Research Mission Colony. The Inquisitor maintains ownership of it, allowing other Inquisitors and perhaps
98-99 Facility even his Acolytes to utilize this place and it’s resources. Examples of such a facility include Hereticus Oubliettes, Xenos Bestiar-
ies, and Malleus Daemonward Sanctums.
Of Extensive An Inquisitor is ever on the outlook for resources and potential allies, especially this one.
100 Means Roll twice more on this table.

58 2.2 Inquisitor Generation

 Ties With...
An Inquisitor can accomplish unbelievable feats, from blunting an Ork WAAAGH!, to uprooting the whole of a hideously depraved noble house, but
performing any such feat is impossible byb oneself, even if that individual is an Inquisitor. To this end most Inquisitors have numerous allies, infor-
mants, and often enough fellow warriors for the Emperor. If the Inquisitor being generated had a “Ties With...” result on the Inquisitorial Resources
table then roll a 1d100 on the following table.
1d100
Ally Description & Effect
Roll
The Inquisitor has contact with a chapter of the Adeptus Astartes, and can call upon them when in need of a
Space Marine favour, which often involves a large amount of brute force.
01-03
Chapter Effect: The Inquisitor gains the Peer (Astartes) Talent, along with a Contact (with the Group, Military Connec-
tions, Offers Favours, and Trusted Attributes).
Useful to aid in the identification and use of alien or ancient technology, an Inquisitor with ties to the Mechani-
Adeptus cus must be careful their position is not compromised by agents of the Machine God.
04-15
Mechanicus Effect: The Inquisitor gains the Peer (Mechanicus) Talent, along with a Contact (with the Adepta, Military Con-
nections, Skill (Tech-Use, Tier 4), Offers Favours, and Trusted Attributes).
Bureaucrats, archivists and logisters, the staff of the Administratum possess a great deal of information; they
simply need to be told where to look.
16-30 Administratum
Effect: The Inquisitor gains the Peer (Administratum) Talent, along with a Contact (with the Adepta, Reduce
Availability (All, 2), Offers Favours, and Reliable Attributes).
Good for the detention of heretics, as well as tracking criminals and providing a decent amount of firepower
Adeptus when necessary.
31-40
Arbites Effect: The Inquisitor gains the Peer (Arbites) Talent, along with a Contact (with the Adepta, Military Connec-
tions, Skill (Interrogation, Tier 4, Scholastic Lore (Judgement), Tier 4), Offers Favours, and Trusted Attributes).
The Imperial Church possesses vast wealth and resources, as well as a presence on almost all Imperial worlds.
41-55 Ecclesiarchy Effect: The Inquisitor gains the Peer (Ecclesiarchy) Talent, along with a Contact (with the Adepta, Military Con-
nections, Skill (Scholastic Lore (Imperial Creed, Tier 5), Offers Favours, and Trusted Attributes).
The Inquisitor has a powerful contact, possibly to do with the Ordo Sicarius, and can gain access to a deadly
Assassinorum Assassin of one of the six temples.
56-57
Temple Effect: The Inquisitor gains the Peer (Assassinorum) Talent, along with a Contact (with the Adepta, Offers Fa-
vours, and Trusted Attributes).
Anything from a xeno-trading cartel to narcotics barons, having access to a criminal gang can be very useful in
some places where Imperial justice does not hold so much sway.
Criminal
58-63 Effect: The Inquisitor gains the Peer (Underworld) Talent, along with a Contact (with the Group, Military Con-
Organization nections, Reduce Availability (Drugs, 2), Skills (Intimidate, Tier 4, Stealth Tier 4), Offers Favours, and Trusted
Attributes).
Ideal for those of aristocratic birth, ties with the nobility can often lead to use of House ships, troops and funds,
as well as bolt-holes and spies. This could also be a Navigator House.
64-70 Noble House
Effect: The Inquisitor gains the Peer (Nobility) Talent, along with a Contact (with the Adepta, Military Connec-
tions, Talent (Excessive Wealth), Reduce Availability (All, 1), Offers Favours, and Trusted Attributes).
Due to investigations into psykers or being a psyker themselves, the Inquisitor has ties with the body that deals
Adeptus Astra with all sanctioned psykers in the Imperium.
71-76
Telepathica Effect: The Inquisitor gains the Peer (Astra Telepathica) Talent, along with a Contact (with the Adepta, Skill
(Focus Power, Tier 5), Offers Favours, and Trusted Attributes).
The Inquisitor has “friends in high places” within a particular region’s government.
Imperial
77-88 Effect: The Inquisitor gains the Good Reputation (Sub-Sector) Talent, along with a Contact (with the Adepta,
Government Military Connections, Reduce Availability (All, 1), Offers Favours, and Trusted Attributes).
Naval or Imperial Guard assets are available to the Inquisitor due to a martial background or contacts within the
organisation.
Imperial
89-98 Effect: The Inquisitor gains the Peer (Imperial Guard) -or- Peer (Imperial Navy) Talent, along with a Contact
Military (with the Adepta, Military Connections, Talent (Munitorum Influence), Reduce Availability (Combat Vehicles),
Offers Favours, and Trusted Attributes).
For Radicals, this could be aliens or even a daemon, whilst for Puritans it’s more likely to be a particularly holy
figure (possibly on the verge of Sainthood), a Rogue Trader, etc.
99-100 Exotic
Effect: The Inquisitor gains the Peer (as appropriate) Talent, along with a Contact (with the Adepta, Military
Connections, Offers Favours, and Trusted Attributes).

2.2 Inquisitor Generation 59

 Personal Army
If the Inquisitor being generated had a “Personal Army” result on the Inquisitorial Resources table then roll a 1d100 on the following table. Treat any
of the following options as a Standard Human Horde Follower, with an appropriate Magnitude. The more esoteric options presented in the Exotic
result should still be constructed much like any Standard Follower, but the GM should allow some leniency for aliens, as they can be very different
from a human’s baseline profile. Reducing the Availability of suitable xeno weapons by one or two ranks of Availability is recommended to allow
alien mercenaries to be more appropriately kitted out.
1d100
Forces Description
Roll
The Inquisitor has employed a cadre of mercenaries. These could be professional, Imperial regulated
01-10 Mercenaries
(possessing a licence) troops or little better than piratical brigands simply out for thrones.
A body of Imperial guardsmen, be it a platoon, company, or a regiment. They could be specialists in a
11-40 Guard Formation
certain type of combat that the Inquisitor finds useful.
Storm Troopers, Ordo-specific units (such as the chamber militants of each Ordo) or Inquisitorial
41-70 Inquisitorial
Wardens.
Arbitrators, Enforcers, Skitarii, Frateris Militia, Penal Soldiers, Naval Security, PDF, Men-at-Arms of
71-90 Imperial (Other)
a Noble House, and so on.
Anything that is not covered here. Alien mercenaries such as the Orks or Kroot, renegades, mutants,
91-100 Exotic
abhumans, alien allies such as the Tau or Eldar, or even forces of Chaos

Hidden Base
The Inquisition has various needs for secretive sanctums on obscure worlds. From holding heretics, to an Inquisitor’s pet project, these facilities
allow their master a large degree of freedom away from prying eyes.
If the Inquisitor being generated had a “Hidden Base” result on the Inquisitorial Resources table then roll a 1d100 on the following table.
The Hidden Base is a structure (see Section 9.2 “Voidstations & Structures”) that must use a Raider hull for it’s basic profile. The Inquisitor gains
such a structure, with the SP budget for it equal to his Influence Characteristic (as per the The Emperor’s Command Trait). Roll on the table below to
determine its location and it’s mandatory requirements. Where exactly the planet or system the Hidden Base is located upon or in is up to the GM to
determine.
1d100
Location Description & Requirements
Ro
The mass amounts of debris in an asteroid field can provide enough of a physical deterrent to would-
be attackers, that is if they can even detect the base among the numerous metallic signals and
01-20 Asteroid Field distortions created by the particle density.
Requirements: Construct this hidden base as per a voidstation, additionally it will also require a
Repulsor Shield Component.
While the inherent danger of proximity to an active volcanic region would make many scoff at such
a location for a hidden locale, it is indeed such a mindset that makes a place such as this an ideal
foundation. The threat of an eruption, or even just ambient toxic gasses also aid in it’s obscurity and
21-40 Volcanic Screen
security greatly.
Requirements: The very real possibilities of volcanic eruptions and toxic ash necessitate a Life Sus-
tainer and Void Shield Component.
With enormous pressures, often ambient life-signs, and the inherent defence and interference provided
by many hundreds of meters of liquid water the bottom of an ocean is ideal for a hidden base.
41-60 Ocean Floor
Requirements: Due to the aquatic nature of this base, and the crushing pressure of these depths, a
Life Sustainer and two Reinforced Interior Bulkheads Components are required.
Hidden within the wreckage of a much larger ship, such as a mass conveyor, this ruse has many ad-
vantages, including the inherent superstition of many who take to the void regularly.
61-80 Hulked Voidship Requirements: Construct this base as per a voidstation, with the additional requirements of a Life
Sustainer and a Reinforced Interior Bulkheads Component. The base also gains a Tenebro-Maze Com-
ponent that does not take up Power or Space.
This base is hidden amongst the decaying macrotecture of a hive world, hidden from the prying eyes
of the countless masses by hidden passages, false hallways, and the like. ARequirements: This base
81-90 Underhive Depths requires Life Sustainers to scrub the toxin-laden refuse of a hive world from its air, and additionally
must take either a Crew Reclamation Facility or Corpse Starch Grinder Component, for use in dispos-
al of nosy or cocksure underhivers and gangers.
Perhaps the most obscure and out of the way hiding method imaginable, this base is set up on a rogue
planet, far from any sun, in the deepest depths of deep space.
91-100 Exoplanet
Requirements: The base must include an Astropathic Choir Tower, as the difficulty in navigating to
this lost world may be an impossibility without the choir’s guidance.

60 2.2 Inquisitor Generation

 Fortress
An Inquisitor has no few reasons to hold a fortress in his possession, most especially if he has made great and terrible enemies who seek his destruc-
tion. If the Inquisitor being generated had a “Fortress” result on the Inquisitorial Resources table then roll a 1d100 on the following table. The For-
tress is a voidstation or structure (see Section 9.2 “Voidstations & Structures”), using the hull profile for whatever hull he can afford. The Inquisitor
gains such a structure, with the SP budget for it equal to his Influence Characteristic (as per the The Emperor’s Command Trait). Roll on the table
below to determine its location and it’s mandatory requirements. Where exactly the planet or system the Fortress is located upon or in is up to the GM
to determine.
1d100
Classification Description & Requirements
Roll
A pragamtic, not to mention very secure, design, this fortress lies deep in a planet’s crust, using the
very surface of the planet as a shield (though it may well have further armour and void shields).
01-25 Bunker Complex Requirements: This structure requires a Life Sustainer to support subterranean life, and additionally
must take 2 Reinforced Interior Bulkheads and an Armour Plating Component to represent the exces-
sively fortified architecture.
Using ancient gravatic technologies, this armed stronghold floats above a planet’s surface.
26-50 Flying Fortress Requirements: Construct the structure as though it were a voidstation. Although it is not able to reach
the cold of the void this structure can fly at a leisurely pace, and adjust its altitude accordingly.
Complete with gargoyles, high towers and fluttering pennants (not to mention void shields and
51-75 Impressive Citadel gun-turrets). Often such a fortress’ presence is enough to dissuage the aggressive or foolhardy.
Requirements: All weapon mounts must be used.
A sovereign demesne, aloft in the void, unnbeholden to any but the Inquisitor.
76-100 Voidstation
Requirements: Must be constructed as per the voidstation rules.

Expert Bodyguard
An Inquisitor has great need for those experienced in combat and those with great loyalty to him, especially if he has lead a successful career of
purgation and made many dark enemies. If the Inquisitor being generated had a “Expert Bodyguard” result on the Inquisitorial Resources table then
roll a 1d100 on the following table.
1d100
Classification Description & Requirements
Roll
The rag-tag band the Inquisitor has collected over the years form his die-hard bodyguard.
01-20 Loyal Henchmen
Effect: The Inquisitor gains a Horde Standard Human Follower
A small number of devout death cultists protect the Inquisitor.
21-40 Death Cultists
Effect: The Inquisitor gains a Horde Standard Human Follower
A squad of veteran guardsmen or stormtroopers form the bodyguard of the Inquisitor.
41-60 Guardsmen
Effect: The Inquisitor gains a Horde Standard Human Follower
A powerful navigator, psyker, or untouchable protects the Inquisitor.
61-80 Psionic Personnel
Effect: The Inquisitor gains a Greater Human Follower
This could be Ordo-specific (Crusaders for the Ordo Hereticus, an Eldar Ranger for the Ordo Xenos,
81-100 Exotic etc), or something unusual such as a unit of Skitarii or even a Space Marine!
Effect: The Inquisitor gains either a Greater Human Follower -or- a Horde Standard Human Follower

Finishing Touches
By this point the Inquisitor has much of his character, assets, and abilities codified, and is most likely a rather fleshed out character. A few last pieces
of insight are recommended for “completing” his profile.

Skills & Talents

An Inquisitor has a lifetime (or perhaps even multiple lifetimes) of experience, and when creating an NPC Inquisitor the GM should not be afraid
to give him a large amount of Skills and Talents, as he has undoubtedly proven his mettle time and time again. Some restraint should be shown (it’s
doubtful an Inquisitor, no matter how worldly, will have time for accruing multiple Trade Skills) and they should generally have to meet the require-
ments of Talents given to them.

Equipment
With such influence at their fingertips it is unlikely that an Inquisitor will be poorly equipped, unless he finds himself in the most desperate of
situations. While a player character Inquisitor will more or less have his inventory determined by the player over the course of a campaign an NPC
Inquisitor is something of a different matter, and the GM should be sure not to utterly overload him with excess gear and equipment.

2.2 Inquisitor Generation 61

 2.3 Regiment Creation
“In any army, balance is the key to success. A commander who puts his faith in heavy weaponry alone will be outmanoeuvred. A com-
mander who relies on close combat without support will lose his force to enemy fire. Each element must work in harmony, so that the
effectiveness of the army is greater than the sum of its parts.”
–Extract from the Tactica Imperialis

While many regiments have long-standing reputations, forged by generations of predecessors across countless worlds, others may not be so re-
nowned. There are countless millions of Imperial Guard regiments in service to the Imperium at any one time, scattered across tens of thousands of
warzones. No one man knows for certain how many souls give their lives in service to the Emperor in any given year, but the hard truth is that more
must serve to replace those who have fallen, which means that new regiments must constantly be raised. Thus continues the cycle; regiments fall in
battle, and new ones are raised to replace them, or to begin new campaigns under the light of a distant star. As a result, it is important to make room
not only for those regiments whose histories are long and bloody, but also for those who are newly mustered, and have yet to either gain glory in the
Emperor’s name or vanish in ignominious defeat.
This section allows a group of players to define their own regiment during character creation, shaping the nature of their unit before creat-
ing the individual soldiers who will make up the group.

Creating A Regiment Commanding Officer

“A warrior’s faith in his commander is his best armour and his strongest
“With every regiment raised, many millions of tonnes of materiel must
be gathered. Thousands of men must be properly trained and prepared weapon.”
to serve the Throne in an approved manner. Vessels must be secured to –Extract from the Tactica Imperialis
transport these resources and these warriors. It is in the best interests of
the Imperium that while vast numbers of regiments are raised each year, After selecting a Home World, the players must select a single personal-
they are only raised when necessary, and always with a mind to the speed ity from the following list, each of which defines the nature of the regi-
at which the muster can be completed—for even the mightiest army is ment’s commanding officer and the influence he has on the men under his
futile, if its force cannot be brought to bear quickly enough.” command.
–Extract from the Tactica Imperialis
Bilious
When creating a new regiment, a group must go through a series of stag- The regiment’s commander is ill-tempered and paranoid, eternally
es, which are described in more detail below. A regiment has a budget of suspicious of betrayal, and watchful of enemies and allies alike. He
10 points with which to purchase individual options, which come from a regards vigilance as the greatest of virtues, and encourages suspicion and
number of categories. watchfulness amongst his men.
First is the home world or origin, which defines where the re- Cost: 2 Points
cruits came from before they were chosen to serve in the Imperial Guard. Starting Talents: Paranoia
Following that, a unit must select a personality for its commanding offi-
cer, which defines how the unit has adapted to the realities of war under Circumspect
their commander’s authority. Finally, there is an assortment of doctrines, The regiment’s commander is balanced in his attitudes and careful in his
which represent the way a unit is trained and equipped. decision-making, yet often overly cautious. His demeanour encourages
At all stages, the GM’s approval is required when a choice is his men to similarly consider situations before they strike, observing the
made—the GM should be involved in the entire process, from start to battlefield before acting.
finish. This allows him to build a mission or a campaign around the regi- Cost: 2 Points
ment, and to ensure that the challenges and encounters are appropriate to Starting Talents: Foresight
the capabilities of the players’ regiment.
Choleric
Home World The regiment’s commander is decisive and leads from the front, taking
Select a Home World from Section 2.1 “Character Creation Options” charge of situations personally, and never afraid to do what he orders his
for the Regiment’s Home World. This selection will apply to all but the men to do. However, he is quick to anger, and can often be drawn into
Regiment’s Support Specialists. Unless a regiment is to be a stormtrooper foolish actions. His men are ever ready for action, and familiar with the
regiment the Schola Progenium Home World should generally not be rigours of battle.
allowed, as the product of this prestigious and powerful institution is not Cost: 2 Points
to be wasted upon the simple meatgrinder that awaits most guardsmen. Starting Talents: Lightning Reflexes

Home Worlds and Support Specialists Fixed

Support Specialists are auxiliary characters who are attached to the Regi-
ment to provide their special skill-set, but are rarely from the same world
as those of the regiment they serve. These characters can be from worlds
half the galaxy away from the Regiment’s Home World, or even have
no Home World at all. To represent this difference of culture, Support
Specialist characters may choose a separate Home World choice from the
Regiment’s.
The regiment’s commander is decisive and unyielding, and once set on
a course of action he seldom changes his mind. While this is invaluable
during many actions his regiment undertakes, it leaves his forces inflexi-
ble in the face of changing battlefields.
Cost: 1 Point
Starting Skills: Command

62 2.2 Inquisitor Generation

Fixed
The regiment’s commander is decisive and unyielding, and once set on
a course of action he seldom changes his mind. While this is invaluable
during many actions his regiment undertakes, it leaves his forces inflexi-
ble in the face of changing battlefields.
Cost: 1 Point
Starting Skills: Command
Maverick
The regiment’s commander is something of a rebel, regarded as ill-dis-
ciplined and unpredictable by his peers, but his attitude and his daring
make him beloved by his men, who see their leader as one of them,
rather than one of “the officers.” So long as he leads, they will follow
him anywhere.
Cost: 2 Points
Starting Talents: Jaded, Resistance (Fear)
Melancholic
The regiment’s commander is careful and introspective, but his will
is not what it once was, having suffered greatly in the crucible of war.
While loyal, his leadership is hampered by hesitation and pessimism, and
his warriors are often forced to rely more on their own initiative in battle,
taking charge themselves when their superiors falter.
Cost: 2 Points
Starting Talents: Air of Authority
Phlegmatic
The regiment’s commander is quiet and contemplative, a man of few
words. When he does speak, it is with great and solemn purpose, to give
commands that have been considered in exacting detail. He does not
command loyalty through rhetoric or heroics, but through quiet compe-
tence, and his men have learnt to trust in his skill and rely on the chain of
command.
Cost: 1 Point
Starting Skills: Common Lore (Imperial Guard), Common Lore (War),
Tactics (Any)
Sanguine
The regiment’s commander is confident and optimistic, though some-
times too caught up in dreams of glory and triumph. While inspirational
to his men with grandiose speeches and heroism, his ambition has often
seen them faced with impossible odds, caught up in their commander’s
quest for glory, and they must battle hard to survive.
Cost: 1 Point
Starting Talents: Die Hard
Supine
The regiment’s commander is a devout man, absolutely loyal to the
Imperium, but lacking in his own initiative. Incapable of the imagination
and daring that gets an officer noticed by his superiors, he serves as little
more than their mouthpiece, accepting their commands and passing them
on flawlessly to his own men. Bereft of any true command, the men must
have faith if they are to survive in the fury of war.
Cost: 1 Point
Starting Skills: Common Lore (Ecclesiarchy), Scholastic Lore (Imperial
Creed)
Starting Talent: Pure Faith
2.3 Regiment Creation
Training and Doctrines
A home world and commander provide the heart of a regiment, but it
is the training they are provided and the armaments they receive which
hone that regiment into a weapon against the enemies of the Imperium.
After selecting a home world and commander from the previous sections,
the players may select a number of doctrines from the following three
lists (Regiment Type, Training Doctrines, and Special Equipment Doc-
trines).
One of those doctrines selected, and only one, must be selected
from the Regiment Type section, and the regiment may have no more
than three doctrines (Training or Special Equipment) in total. In addi-
tion, each of the doctrines listed has a cost in points, which is deducted
from the budget set at the start of regiment creation. Each doctrine
provides some or all of the following benefits: modifiers applied to the
Characteristics of characters from the regiment, a number of additional
Starting Skills, a number of additional Starting Talents, an additional
special rule or advantage, and/or a few extra items for the Standard Regi-
mental Kit.
Training Doctrines each provide an Aptitude along with their
Skills, Talents, and Kit additions, and a character from a regiment with a
Training Doctrine must have at least one of the Aptitudes given, but does
not have to take them all.
Regiment Type
“It is the diversity of the Imperial Guard that is perhaps, its greatest
strength, for with that diversity, there are few threats that cannot be
met and overcome. No one element of the Imperial Guard can triumph
alone, be it deadly artillery, mighty tanks, or brave infantry, but in proper
combination, there is nought that cannot be crushed by the Hammer of
the Emperor.”
–Extract from the Tactica Imperialis
Anti-Aircraft
Using man-portable surface to air launchers, dedicated anti-aircraft em-
placements, and armoured vehicles like the Hydra flak tank, these eagle
eyed Guardsmen keep the skies clear of enemy aerospace craft and flying
beasts of all varieties. Whether assigned to a static anti-air battery pro-
tecting a field command centre or aboard a Hydra protecting an infantry
regiment from the wanton depredations of Ork fightas, anti-aircraft regi-
ments are a very important part of the Imperial Guard’s order of battle.
Cost: 4 Points
Characteristics: +3 Ballistic Skill, -3 Weapon Skill
Starting Skills: Operate (Surface)
Starting Talent: Storm of Iron
Standard Kit: 1 Hydra Flak Tank per Squad -or- 1 Sabre Gun Platform
for every 2 Squad Members -or- 1 Missile Launcher with Frag, Krak, and
Flakk Missiles for every 2 Squad Members, and one set of Trade Tools
(Technomat) per Squad Member.
Special: Members of Anti-Aircraft regiments gain an additional +10
bonus to their Ballistic Skill to hit vehicles with the Skimmer, Flyer, or
Spacecraft type, and against creatures and characters with the Hoverer or
Flyer Trait.
Armoured Regiment
Alongside the serried ranks of infantry and the humble lasgun, little is
as emblematic of the wars of the Imperial Guard as the armoured might
of its tanks. Rugged, resilient, and capable of unleashing staggering
amounts of firepower, there is little that can stand before the fury of com-
panies of Leman Russ battle tanks. The crews of these mighty behemoths
are justifiably proud of their status, and the accomplishments of their
steel charges.
Cost: 4 Points
Characteristics: -3 Weapon Skill, +3 Intelligence
63
Starting Skills: Operate (Surface)
Starting Talents: Technical Knock
Standard Kit: One Leman Russ battle tank (or variant, at GM’s dis-
cretion) per Squad, and one set of Trade Tools (Technomat) per Squad
Member.
Artillery Regiment
Artillerymen operate the numerous towed and self-propelled artillery
pieces fielded by the Imperial Guard such as the Basilisk, the Medusa
Siege Gun, and the Griffon Heavy Mortar Platform. Whether stationed
well behind the front lines in a Basilisk battalion or operating in a
mortar section in support of an offensive push, Imperial artillery supplies
precision, medium and long-range indirect fire in support of infantry and
armoured regiments. Artillery units also operate the Guard’s anti-air-
craft weapons, including the Hydra flak tank and the Deathstrike missile
launcher vehicle. Infantry regiments tend to have somewhat adversarial
but nonetheless codependent relationships with the artillery regiments
who support them. Even if indirect fire has a tendency to be whimsically
inaccurate at times, despite the presence of forward observers and orbital
telemetry, most Guardsmen owe their lives at least once to a well timed
artillery barrage, and thus treat artillerymen with grudging respect.
Cost: 4 Points
Characteristics: +3 Ballistic Skill, -3 Toughness
Starting Skills: Operate (Surface)
Starting Talents: Bombardier
Standard Kit: 1 Lascarbine (Main Weapon) and four charge packs per
Squad Member, 1 Basilisk per Squad or 1 mortar per every two Squad
Members, 1 pair of magnoculars per Squad Member, 1 vox-caster per
Squad.
Close Assault Regiment
While comparatively rare compared to other types of infantry regi-
ment, the Imperial Guard does raise and maintain regiments dedicated
to close-quarters combat and brutal assaults. Such regiments typically
come from technologically primitive worlds, where melee combat is
the order of the day, but might also come from the ranks of hive gangs,
post-cataclysmic worlds, or anywhere else where the inhabitants display
a propensity for melee combat or close-range fire-fights. In some cases,
these regiments are equipped with a transport vehicle to get them close to
the enemy as quickly as possible while protecting them from enemy fire.
Others, particularly those from primitive origins, are instead assigned to
warzones that utilise their talents without the need to cross open terrain,
such as the depths of hives, the ruins of cities, mining tunnels, or dense
jungle.
Cost: 3 Points
Characteristics: +3 Weapon Skill, -3 Intelligence
Starting Skills: Dodge -or- Parry
Starting Talents: Lightning Reflexes
Standard Kit: One combat shotgun and four reloads or one great
weapon or two one-handed low-tech weapons per Squad Member (Main
Weapon), one suit of Flak Armour per Squad Member, three frag gre-
nades and two krak grenades per Squad Member.
Special: At a cost of an additional 2 Regiment Creation points, the reg-
iment can add a Chimera Armoured Transport or other transport vehicle
(at the GM’s discretion) per Squad to its Standard Regimental Kit.
Drop Troops
A rare type of regiment, drop troops are extremely specialised infantry,
trained for rapid strikes from airborne transports. Employing grav-chutes
and attached Imperial Navy Valkyrie assault carriers to perform raids
deep behind enemy lines, drop troops provide an uncommon, but potent
resource to generals. Largely regarded by other Imperial Guardsmen as
insane for choosing to leap out of a perfectly good aircraft in mid-flight,
64 2.3 Regiment Creation
they are nonetheless required to be daring and courageous to dive into
enemy territory, and away from the comfort of supply lines and heavy
support. However, their habit of operating alone without support tends to
make them somewhat distant and cold to those outside their ranks.
Cost: 3 Points
Characteristics: +3 Agility, -3 Fellowship
Starting Skills: Operate (Aeronautica)
Starting Talents: Catfall
Standard Kit: One Lascarbine and four charge packs per Squad Member
(Main Weapon), one suit of Flak Armour per Squad Member, one respi-
rator per Squad Member, one grav-chute per Squad Member, two frag
grenades, and two smoke grenades per Squad Member. For an additional
4 Regiment Points the Squad may gain the use of 1 Valkyrie Assault
Carrier -or- Vendetta Heavy Gunship.
Exterminator Regiment
Being used as the linchpin units in many grand strategies, exterminator
units use light vehicles with deceptively heavy firepower to linger behind
the front lines until called upon, then pushing forward quickly to strike
down priority targets in support of the rank-and-file. Many exterminator
units develop a hero mentality from their exploits, dealing the killing
blow to enemy after enemy, and so outsiders tend to regard them as
glory-seeking mavericks.
Cost: 3 Points
Characteristics: +3 Ballistic Skill, -3 Strength
Starting Skills: Operate (Surface)
Starting Talents: Resistance (Fear), Giantkiller -or- Slaughter the
Swarm
Standard Kit: One Sentinel Scout Walker or one Hellhound Support
Tank (or variant) per Squad.
Guerrilla Regiment
These Guardsmen are light infantry units trained in covert warfare tactics
and deployed against the Imperium’s enemies as infiltrators, assassins,
and saboteurs. Stealthy and dangerous, these soldiers spend much of
their time well behind enemy lines carrying out clandestine, top-secret
missions behind enemy lines or even on worlds entirely held by foes.
They tend to show more initiative and creative thinking in the field than
the average Guardsman. Indeed, it is this ability to think on their feet and
adapt to quickly changing tactical situations that keeps them alive and al-
lows them to carry out their dangerous missions successfully. Experts at
asymmetric warfare, their missions typically include killing or capturing
enemy leaders, interrogation, and deep infiltration strikes via grav chute
or other aeronautica against enemy installations and infrastructure.
Cost: 4 Points
Characteristics: +3 Perception, -3 Fellowship
Starting Skill: Stealth, Interrogation
Starting Talents: Ambush
Standard Kit: 1 Lascarbine (Main Weapon) and four charge packs per
Squad Member, 2 blind grenades per Squad Member, 2 stun grenades per
Squad Member, 2 frag grenades per Squad Member.
Grenadiers
These Guardsmen are highly trained heavy infantry specialists trained
in the use of grenades, grenade launchers, and the other numerous types
of deployable explosive devices used by the Imperial Guard. These
heavy-hitting soldiers work either in their own units as powerful heavy
shock troopers or in mixed infantry units as heavy support troopers,
using their heavy weapons to deny areas, defend their comrades, destroy
lightly armoured fighting vehicles, and shatter close-packed groups of
enemy infantry.
Cost: 4 Points
Characteristics: +3 Ballistic Skill, +3 Toughness, -3 Perception,
-3 Intelligence.
Starting Skills: Trade (Demolitions)
Starting Talents: Bombardier
Standard Kit: 1 Lasgun (Main Weapon), 1 auxiliary grenade launcher
weapon upgrade per Squad Member, 1 additional krak and frag grenade
per Squad Member, 1 suit of light carapace armour per Squad Member, 1
deadspace earpiece per Squad Member, 2 grenade launchers per Squad.
Heavy Reconnaissance Regiment
While most regiments dedicated to forward scouting are equipped as nor-
mal forward infantry supported by no more than a single Sentinel walker,
some rare regiments are formed entirely of soldiers dedicated to piloting
and maintaining these light walkers. Though some commanders view
such formations as gratuitous use of heavy machinery in the field, the
effect of several walkers stomping out of the foliage or across a hilltop at
breakneck pace, tearing apart any light vehicles or structures in their path
to clear the way for their force’s advance is undeniable.
Cost: 8 Points
Characteristics: +3 Agility, -3 Toughness
Starting Skills: Operate (Surface), Trade (Technomat)
Starting Talents: Push the Limit, Tank Hunter
Standard Kit: 1 Sentinel scout walker per Squad Member, 1 set of mag-
noculars per Squad Member.
Light Infantry Regiment
Lightly-equipped infantry units are key to the complex tactical manoeu-
vres required on the battlefields of the 41st Millennium. Lacking the
firepower to effectively fight on the front lines, their talents are better
employed in dense terrain, where they can lay ambushes and engage in
short-lived skirmishes.
Cost: 2 Points
Characteristics: +3 Agility, -3 Toughness
Starting Skills: Navigate (Surface)
Starting Talents: Sprint
Standard Kit: One lascarbine and four charge packs per Squad Member
(Main Weapon), one flak vest and flak helmet per Squad Member, two
frag grenades and two smoke grenades per Squad Member.
Line Infantry Regiment
The backbone of the Imperial Guard, line infantry form the bulk of every
battle line, the core of every assault, and the heart of every defence. The
humble, doughty, and loyal infantryman is the subject of countless pro-
paganda picts and inspirational murals across the Imperium. They form
the iconic image of the Imperial Guard for most Imperial citizens, and for
good reason. It is a rare battlefield that is not graced by the presence of
line infantry.
Cost: 2 Points
Characteristics: +3 Strength, -3 Intelligence
Starting Skills: Athletics
Starting Talents: Rapid Reload
Standard Kit: One Lasgun and four charge packs per Squad Member
(Main Weapon), one suit of Flak Armour per Squad Member, two frag
grenades and two krak grenades per Squad Member.
Mechanised Infantry
Less common than line infantry, mechanised infantry serve as a
fast-moving, hard-hitting force, pairing the utility of infantry with the
speed and firepower of armoured vehicles. The availability of Chimera
transports is the main limiting factor to the number of mechanised infan-
try units in any given warzone, and this rarity means that many mech-
anised infantry regiments are divided into a number of smaller Armoured
Fist groups— single squads or platoons—attached to armoured regiments
(to provide infantry support) and line infantry regiments (to provide a
2.3 Regiment Creation
fast reserve or armoured vanguard).
Cost: 3 Points
Characteristics: +3 Agility, -3 Perception
Starting Skills: Operate (Surface)
Starting Talents: Rapid Reload
Standard Kit: One Lasgun and four charge packs per Squad Member
(Main Weapon), one suit of Flak Armour per Squad Member, two frag
grenades and two krak grenades per Squad Member, one Chimera Ar-
moured Transport per Squad.
Mechanised Reconnaissance Regiment
While Sentinel walkers are the favoured vehicle of most reconnaissance
regiments, some regiments or squads prefer to give up the all-terrain
capabilities of the Sentinel in favour of armour to survive a protracted
engagement and the speed to escape it. Salamander Reconnaissance
Tanks are swift vehicles based on the reliable Chimera chassis. These
open topped vehicles are perfectly suited to reconnaissance work, and
have the speed to scout ahead of a formation and return with invaluable
intelligence in short order.
Cost: 3 Points
Characteristics: +3 Perception, -3 Toughness
Starting Skills: Awareness -or- Scrutiny
Starting Talents: Lightning Reflexes
Standard Kit: One Salamander Reconnaissance Tank (or variant, at
the GM’s discretion) per Squad, and one set of magnoculars per Squad
Member.
Rapid Reconnaissance Regiment
Most associated with the regiments of Elysia, the Tauros rapid assault
vehicle is comparatively rare amongst the Imperial Guard, its use requir-
ing special dispensation from the Adeptus Mechanicus. Regiments able
to obtain these vehicles, however, find a dependable and swift vehicle,
able to traverse nearly any terrain at speed. It is for these qualities that
some reconnaissance regiments favour Tauros over the more common
Sentinels. While more limited in what terrain they can negotiate, these
vehicles’ speed makes up for the limitation in many environments.
Cost: 8 Points
Characteristics: +3 Agility, -3 Toughness
Starting Skills: Operate (Surface), Trade (Technomat)
Starting Talents: Hotshot Pilot -or- Accelerated Repairs
Standard Kit: One Tauros rapid assault vehicle and one set of Magnoc-
ulars per Squad Member. At the GM’s discretion, two Squad Members
may exchange their individual vehicles for a single Tauros Venator.
Reconnaissance Regiment
A key part of any war effort, reconnaissance units allow an army to scout
out enemy movements and positions, and their keen senses and training
allow them to swiftly ambush enemy patrols attempting to do the same.
Due to their role, reconnaissance units invariably operate far ahead of
army commanders, requiring considerable autonomy and personal initia-
tive, traits that often breed a strong sense of daring and recklessness. For
all their typical ill-discipline, reconnaissance units are invaluable assets
to any army commander.
Cost: 3 Points
Characteristics: +3 Perception, -3 Willpower
Starting Skills: Awareness
Starting Talents: Combat Sense
Standard Kit: One Sentinel Scout Walker or one Chimera Armoured
Transport per Squad, and one set of magnoculars per Squad Member.
65
Rough Rider Regiment
While they might seem a strange anachronism in a military force that
fields enough firepower both on the ground and in space to annihilate an
entire planet, the Imperial Guard’s Rough Riders are as dangerous as any
armoured or mechanised regiment. Possessed of a flexibility and speed
nearly unrivalled among the numerous regiments of the Guard, different
groups of Rough Riders ride a myriad of different beasts, from hardy,
war-hardened common horses to lumbering grox to creatures even more
exotic like small carnosaurs or winged felines.
Rough Riders are typically raised from low technology level
feral and feudal worlds where nomadic or cavalry centric societies are
the norm, though some, like the Death Riders of Krieg hail from more
developed worlds. Rough Riders are lightly armed and armoured, drilled
in close-range combat and anti-armour tactics. They wear light flak
armour and carry their unique, multi-purpose hunting lances, laspistols,
a handful of grenades, and precious little else. While their mounts grant
the troopers great speed and manoeuvrability, they also limit the type and
amount of equipment that can be carried in the field. Due to this, most
Rough Riders are accomplished at fieldcraft and survival, able to live, if
not comfortably, then at least reasonably off the land in nearly any envi-
ronment. In theatre, they are deployed as scouts, skirmishers, and guer-
rilla fighters, in squads of four to nine troopers led by a sergeant. Their
mounts allow them to move quickly and stealthily far from Imperial
supply lines and through terrain difficult or impossible to cross for heavy
mechanised and armoured units. This makes them hard for enemies to
counter, and Rough Riders use this to their advantage in their unique hit-
and-run style of combat.
Cost: 5 Points
Characteristics: +3 Agility, -3 Ballistic Skill
Starting Skills: Survival
Starting Talents: Catfall, Weapon Expertise (Low-Tech) -or- Exotic
Weapon Training (Hunting Lance), replace Standard Human Follower
with a Standard Bestial Follower; it must have the Mount Trait.
Standard Kit: 1 Hunting Lance -or- Great Weapon (Main Weapon) per
Squad Member, 1 Laspistol and four charge packs per Squad Member, 1
flak jacket and flak helmet per Squad Member, 2 saddlebags per Squad
Member, 1 set of Riding Tack & Saddle per Squad Member.
Salvage and Recovery Regiment
In the battles it wages against the Imperium’s foes, it is unavoidable
that the mighty tanks and vehicles of the Imperial Guard fall in battle
alongside the soldiers themselves, despite their mighty armour. However,
such is the fortitude of the Imperial Guard’s tanks, that they are rarely de-
stroyed outright—such an event occurring only if the enemy is fortunate
enough to detonate fuel or ammunition stores with a lucky shot. When
a battle tank or even a Chimera transport is left damaged on the field of
battle, it is important to recover it as quickly as possible, before errant
shots or vindictive enemies damage the wrecked vehicle beyond repair. It
is up to the salvage and recovery regiments to perform this task, braving
the battlefield to tow the crippled war machines to safety. This allows the
Tech-Priest Enginseers to soothe the vehicles’ machine spirits and repair
the damage, that they might roar into battle once more.
Cost: 3 Points
Characteristics: +3 Strength, -3 Agility
Starting Skills: Athletics, Operate (Surface)
Starting Talents: Nerves of Steel or Battlefield Tech-Wright
Standard Kit: One Atlas Recovery Tank per Squad, and one set of Trade
Tools (Technomat) per Squad Member.
66 2.3 Regiment Creation
Siege Infantry
Similar to line infantry, siege infantry form a solid mass of troops, specif-
ically trained to serve in protracted sieges. A siege regiment may be de-
ployed in a single location for years at a time, moving only infrequently
to a new front line, often only a few hundred metres from the last
one.
Each line usually consists of newly-dug trenches and earth-
works, swiftly and precisely excavated by thousands of troopers. It is
said that the finest siege regiments can establish a solid defence line with
nothing but shovels, flakboard, and sandbags, within half an hour of
deployment.
Cost: 2 Points
Characteristics: +3 Toughness, -3 Intelligence
Starting Skills: Trade (Technomat)
Starting Talents: Nerves of Steel
Standard Kit: One Lasgun and six charge packs per Squad Member
(Main Weapon), one suit of Flak Armour per Squad Member, one respi-
rator per Squad Member, four empty sandbags and one entrenching tool
per Squad Member, two frag grenades and two photon flash grenades per
Squad Member.
Super-Heavy Armoured Regiment
To be entrusted with the care of a hallowed superheavy tank is one of
the greatest honours that might befall a squad. Super-heavy armoured
regiments are rare in comparison to other types of armoured regiments,
and tend to come only from worlds with close ties to the Adeptus Me-
chanicus. While an honour, the duty of shepherding a super-heavy tank
comes with great weight of responsibility. These mighty engines of war
are no mere vehicles, but divine instruments of Omnissiah’s wrath. The
crew of these vehicles must always respect the fearsome machine spirits
within. Such regiments must also strive to protect these mighty adaman-
tine beasts from harm; no small feat, seeing as super-heavy tanks such as
Baneblades, Stormlords, and Shadowswords are likely to be deployed in
the thickest and most dangerous fighting.
Cost: 7 Points
Characteristics: -3 Weapon Skill, +3 Willpower
Starting Skills: Operate (Surface)
Starting Talents: Technical Knock
Standard Kit: One Baneblade super-heavy tank (or variant, at the GM’s
discretion) per Squad, and one set of Trade Tools (Technomat) per Squad
Member.
 Training Doctrines
“Every regiment is essentially unique, and while all are of a carefully
measured fighting strength and all are given a degree of uniformity by the
Departmento Munitorum, there can be no argument against evaluating
the strength of each regiment under one’s command, identifying their
particular proficiencies to better employ them in battle. With diligent
training, this strength can be heightened and focussed, turning it into a
true asset.”
–Extract from the Tactica Imperialis
Anti-Armour
This regiment specialises in disabling and destroying enemy armoured
vehicles. Typically composed of light or line infantry, they are instilled
with an encyclopaedic knowledge of enemy armour and equipped with
rocket and missile launchers, anti-tank mines, melta guns, and other
destructive devices. These Guardsmen are frequently deployed on foot or
mounted in a Chimera and can cripple an enemy’s armoured advance or
mechanised units with nothing but a few well placed missiles.
Cost: 4 Points
Starting Skill: Common Lore (Tech), Tactics (Armoured Warfare)
Starting Talent: Tank Hunter, Weak Spot (BS)
Aptitude: Finesse
Standard Kit: If the Squad has at least one vehicle they also gain 1
Hunter Killer Missile Launcher and 3 Hunter Killer Missiles. If they
do not have a vehicle, they instead gain 2 Krak Grenades per Squad
Member.
Close Order Drill
The regiment has trained long and hard to operate in close formations,
fighting shoulder-to-shoulder with their comrades. These close forma-
tions can respond quickly with overwhelming force, moving as a single
entity, rather than a group of individuals.
Cost: 1 Point
Characteristics: +3 Weapon Skill
Starting Talent: Combat Formation -or- Double Team
Aptitude: Weapon Skill
Close-Quarters Battle
The deadly, winding underhives, endless mine shafts and tunnels deep
below a planet’s surface, and the narrow corridors of a towering hab
block: these are just a few examples of the environs where a close quar-
ters battle regiment shines. Lightly armoured and armed with carbines,
bullpups, and other short-barrelled weapons along with numerous deadly
melee weapons, close quarters specialists are trained to move and fight
effectively in confined spaces. These Guardsmen tend to be reckless
enough to fight the vicious enemies of the Imperium up close, and per-
ceptive and skilled enough to survive doing so—until their luck runs out,
at least.
Cost: 5 Points
Starting Talent: Double Team -or- Combat Master
Aptitude: Strength
Standard Kit: 1 Lascarbine (Main Weapon) with four charge packs per
Squad Member, 1 mono knife per Squad Member, 1 suit of light carapace
armour per Squad Member.
Special: Members of regiments that specialise in Close Quarters Battle
gain an additional +10 bonus to all Ballistic Skill Tests made at Point-
Blank Range.
Defenders of the Faith
This regiment is closely tied to the Adeptus Ministorum, the galaxy-span-
ning Ecclesiarchy that teaches the Imperial Truth and leads the worship
of the Most Holy Emperor. This regiment is particularly pious in its
devotions, and is sure to be accompanied by preachers, confessors, and
2.3 Regiment Creation
other warriors representing the Ecclesiarchy. In battle, the soldiers of this
regiment fight valiantly under the watchful eyes of the Ecclesiarchy and,
should they be so blessed, the Emperor Himself.
Cost: 2 Points
Characteristics: +3 Willpower
Starting Skills: Common Lore (Ecclesiarchy), Scholastic Lore (Imperial
Creed)
Starting Talents: Litany Against Fear
Aptitude: Willpower
Servants of the Omnissiah
This regiment is closely associated with the Adeptus Mechanicus. It
might hail from a technologically advanced hive world or orbital station,
or even one of the Mechanicus’ own holy forge worlds. Due to their
lifelong exposure, soldiers from this regiment are much more comfort-
able with technology than most regiments would consider healthy, and
quickly adapt to new technologies given the opportunity.
Cost: 3 Points
Characteristics: +2 Intelligence
Starting Skills: Common Lore (Tech), Trade (Armourer) -or- Trade
(Technomat)
Starting Talents: Peer (Mechanicus)
Aptitude: Tech
Demolitionists
This regiment specialises in demolitions work, relying on powerful
explosives and their precise application to bring down enemy fortifica-
tions or even to destroy vehicles or infantry formations. This doctrine
could represent specialised siege training, or adapted skills from a mining
background. Demolitionists often earn a reputation for recklessness, but
usually maintain that their success and continued time amongst the living
shows that they are, in fact, quite cautious and methodical in their work.
Cost: 4 Points
Characteristics: +2 Intelligence
Starting Skills: Trade (Demolitions), Operate (Surface)
Starting Talents: Nerves of Steel, Sudden Attack
Aptitude: Intelligence
Standard Kit: One Cyclops Demolition Vehicle -or- Demolitions Kit
per Squad, one blast goggles, and one respirator and 1 kg of demolition
charge per Squad Member.
Die-Hards
The regiment is unyielding in the face of adversity, and will not falter
amidst the fury of battle, no matter the horrors arrayed against them.
Cost: 1 Points
Characteristics: +3 Toughness
Starting Talents: Die Hard, Hardy
Aptitude: Toughness
Favoured Foe
The regiment’s home world has long been assailed by one of the myriad
enemies of Mankind, and its troops have learned the hard way the most
effective ways to slay that enemy. Without mercy and without fear, they
relish opportunities to bring death to their traditional foe.
Cost: 3 Points
Starting Skills: Forbidden Lore (Choose One)
Starting Talents: Hatred (Choose One), Preferred Enemy (Choose One)
Aptitude: Offence
67
Hardened Fighters
The regiment’s warriors are vicious up close, deadly in melee as well as
at range. Armed with the tools of their grim trade, they are not afraid to
face their enemies in single combat, and feel the hot blood of the fresh-
ly-slain on their skin.
Cost: 2 Points
Characteristics: +2 Weapon Skill
Starting Talents: Street Fighting
Aptitude: Weapon Skill
Standard Kit: The regiment can either gain a Melee Attachment Modi-
fications with the Mono Modification applied to it or instead gain Chain
Attachment Modifications per Squad Member.
Infiltrators
This regiment uses stealth, cunning, and every ruse de guerre known to
military science to sow fear and havoc among the enemies of the Impe-
rium. Well versed in clandestine warfare, infiltrators carry out missions
that most hardened Storm Troopers would not undertake lightly.
Cost: 3 Points
Starting Skill: Stealth
Starting Talents: Blind Fighting, Deference for Darkness
Aptitude: Fieldcraft
Iron Discipline
The regiment is well-known for its unyielding devotion to duty and
absolute loyalty to superiors. No man will hesitate to act when ordered,
nor will they falter when carrying out those orders. The expectations of
the common infantryman, however, are such that shouldering the burden
of command is to take on a great and solemn responsibility, and only
the humblest and most serious-minded of officers can be entrusted with
warriors so devoted.
Cost: 3 Points
Characteristics: +5 Willpower
Starting Talents: Iron Discipline
Aptitude: Willpower
Sappers
This regiment specialises in combat engineer duties, including erecting
fortifications, building bridges and other structures, demolitions work,
setting or clearing minefields, and tunnelling under enemy emplace-
ments. While the soldiers lack the knowledge and ability of Tech-Priest
Enginseers, they are trained to construct, build, and fortify, although they
perform such tasks almost purely by rote. The Imperial Guard utilises
many prefabricated structures, designed to be erected and emplaced with
minimal time and skill. Sappers often go beyond the theoretical limits
of their duties and abilities, learning to use whatever is to hand when
resources become scarce. While such actions might violate Departmento
Munitorum edicts, they are often overlooked by officers so long as the
results are worthwhile.
Cost: 3 Points
Characteristics: +2 Intelligence
Starting Skills: Trade (Technomat)
Starting Talents: Improve Cover
Aptitude: Intelligence
Standard Regimental Kit: One lascutter per Squad Member.
Special: Sappers are trained to both build and disassemble fortifications,
undermine walls, and similar duties. Characters from this regiment gain
a +10 bonus to Trade (Technomat) Tests to construct or disassemble a
structure.
68 2.3 Regiment Creation
Sharpshooters
The regiment has a well-earned reputation for producing deadly
marksmen, and every soldier is expected to be able to demonstrate great
proficiency with a lasgun, at the very least. Such regiments commonly
produce some of the finest snipers in the Imperial Guard, and even the
common soldier can be relied upon to fell foe after foe with a storm of
precise shots.
Cost: 4 Points
Characteristics: +3 Ballistic Skill
Starting Talents: Deadeye Shot, Nowhere to Hide
Aptitude: Ballistic Skill
Skirmishers
Some regiments are specialise in using cover, terrain, weather, and
darkness to shroud their movements. Skirmishers are trained to use every
advantage to stealthily approach their quarry then overwhelm them in a
single cascading assault. Once they strike, they disappear as quickly as
they arrive, leaving shattered and confused enemy troops in their wake.
Cost: 3 Points
Starting Skills: Acrobatics -or- Stealth
Starting Talents: Ambush -or- Assassin Strike
Aptitude: Agility
Snipers
Some light infantry or reconnaissance regiments specialise in eliminating
their enemies from a distance. Utilising the long las or sniper rifle, the
soldiers of this regiment hone their abilities to strike at range, preferably
neutralising their targets without ever revealing their own presence.
Cost: 2
Characteristics: +2 Ballistic Skill
Starting Talents: Marksman
Standard Kit: One Longlas and 4 charge packs or one Sniper Rifle and
four clips per Squad Member (Main Weapon).
Survivalists
The regiment is skilled at surviving in the wilderness, and its soldiers are
masters of operating in a particular kind of terrain, normally the one in
which they’ve grown up and trained extensively. Hunters and trackers
almost without peer, there are few who can escape their pursuit.
Cost: 4 Points
Starting Skill: Awareness, Scrutiny, Survival
Starting Talent: Keen Intuition, Surefoot Wayfinder
Aptitude: Fieldcraft
Unstoppable
These soldiers are bred for the charge. Such warriors specialise in
breaking infantry lines, storming fortifications, and demoralising nearly
any foe. A terror to behold with their weapons readied at full tilt, a charge
made by this regiment ranks as one of the most awe-inspiring sights on
the battlefield.
Cost: 3 Points
Characteristics: +3 Weapon Skill
Starting Talent: Berserk Charge, Felling Charge
Aptitude: Weapon Skill
Standard Kit: All Squad Members gain a Low-Tech Melee Weapon.
 Special Equipment Doctrines
“The arming of a regiment is a matter of considerable complexity. Each
and every regiment will be equipped in a manner according to their pur-
pose, the world of their origin, and the availability of resources.”
–Extract from the Tactica Imperialis
Augmetics
The regiment has had long ties with the Adeptus Mechanicus, and though
not privy to the many secrets of that organisation, they willingly accept
the wisdom of the Priests of Mars. As a testament to this unity, the regi-
ment’s warriors sport many more bionics and augmetics than is typically
the case, with veterans often sporting bionics to replace organs and limbs
lost to the horrors of war.
Cost: 1 Points
Standard Kit: The regiment gains an additional +10 on all Acquisition
Tests made to obtain bionic replacements and implants.
Automated Artillery
A wide variety of regiments make use of Tarantula Sentry Guns, using
these automated artillery pieces to supplement their own offensive capa-
bilities or to provide additional defence. While sentry guns are especially
prized by regiments that are understrength or engaged in seemingly
endless wars of attrition or urban campaigns, they also find use supple-
menting manual artillery pieces or fortifying a drop-trooper beachhead.
Cost: 2 Points
Standard Kit: One Tarantula Sentry Gun per Squad.
Bonded to the Machine Cult
This regiment is bonded to the Tech-Priesthood of Mars by ancient
decree. The regiment’s home world maintains close ties with the Adeptus
Mechanicus, producing advanced weaponry that is usually the purview
only of the forge worlds. Consequently, the regiment is able to obtain
such weapons more easily either from their home world or even directly
from the Adeptus Mechanicus.
Cost: 2 Points
Standard Kit: The regiment gains an additional +10 on all Logistics
Tests to obtain Plasma, Melta, and Power weapons, and other items of
advanced technology at the GM’s discretion.
Breachers
A variety of specialised equipment is available for use by siege regiments
and other Imperial Guard forces assigned to attack enemy fortifications.
Some specialized combat engineer, sappers, or assault units are granted
the use of a Hades Breaching Drill to tunnel under enemy lines or under-
mine existing, enemy-held tunnels or fortifications. Such work can be
extremely dangerous, both for the desperate close-quarters fighting that
inevitably results and for the lack of structural stability of such tunnels.
Cost: 3 Points
Standard Kit: One Hades Breaching Drill per Squad.
Cavalry Mounts
Each member of the regiment has a personal mount such as a horse,
Grox, or other riding beast. Along with the mount, the trooper has all
the necessary equipment or “tack” required for riding and fighting from
their mount, items such as saddles, saddlebags, hobbles, bit and bridle,
harnesses, armour, and the like. Troopers are responsible for the care and
feeding of their mounts, and typically form a bond with their animal as
deep and lasting as between other types of Guardsmen and their squad
mates.
Cost: 5 Points
Standard Kit: 1 Standard Bestial Follower per Squad Member (replac-
ing their regular Follower), 1 Riding Tack & Saddle per Squad Member,
2.3 Regiment Creation
blanket per Squad Member, 2 saddle bags per Squad Member, 2 weeks’
rations for the mount. Any barding or other mount armour varies by reg-
iment, and is equivalent to the Guardsman’s standard armour (covering
the same Hit Locations and providing the same AP).
Special: If the Regiment choosing this doctrine is a Rough Rider Regi-
ment they may generate their mounts as a Greater Bestial Follower.
Chameleoline
The regiment’s duties require them to move unseen across the battlefield,
and for this reason, they have been equipped with colour-shifting chame-
leoline, which helps them blend in with their surroundings.
Cost: 3 Points
Standard Kit: The regiment is equipped with either Chameleoline
Cloaks or the Chameleoline Coating Armour Modification applied to
each member’s main suit of armour. If the regiment choosing this doc-
trine have a vehicle as part of their Standard Kit they may instead take
one Chameleoline Tarpaulin per vehicle in their Standard Kit.
Combat Drugs
Commonly given to Penal Legions and other units who may require addi-
tional encouragement to fight their hardest, combat drugs can provide the
additional psychological or physical kick needed to spur a unit to action.
Cost: 2 Points
Standard Kit: The regiment adds an Injector or Inhaler and three doses
of Frenzon or five doses of Stimm. Additional doses must be obtained
through Acquisition, and gain a +10 bonus to acquiring them.
Covert Strike
This regiment’s missions require them to operate well behind enemy
lines, often amongst the enemy soldiers themselves, and their equipment
reflects their need for speed, stealth, and flexibility.
Cost: 3 Points
Standard Kit: 1 suit of Synskin per Squad Member, 1 set of Preysense
Goggles per Squad Member.
Special: Members of this regiment gain a +10 bonus to all Acquisition
Tests made to acquire chameleoline cloaks or armour, clip/drop harness-
es, rebreathers, survival suits, auspices, demolitions charges, grav chutes,
multikeys, multicompasses, stummers, static generators, and any other
such equipment designed for stealth and infiltration. The Acquisition
bonus also covers the following stealth weapons: needle rifles, needle
pistols, and sniper rifles, as well as the Silencer and Tox Dispenser Mod-
ifications.
Cyber-Enhanced
This regiment has very close ties with the Adeptus Mechanicus, or per-
haps is even from one of the worlds of the Machine Cult. In either case,
the regiment believes in the superiority of the machine over flesh, and its
members gladly accept the blessings of the Omnissiah to replace their
biological parts. From bionic limbs to enhanced senses, these cybernetic
enhancements serve to increase the regiment’s abilities in battle.
Cost: 3 Points
Standard Kit: All characters in this regiment begin with two Com-
mon-Craftsmanship cybernetics or one Good-Craftsmanship cybernetic
of up to Rare Availability (the specific cybernetics are subject to the
GM’s approval).
69
Demolitions
Destruction is the unit’s calling, and they are equipped and trained to
follow that calling, with access to a variety of explosive munitions.
Cost: 2 Points
Skills: Gain a Rank of the Trade (Demolitions) Skill
Standard Kit: The regiment gains a +10 bonus on all Acquisition Tests
made to obtain grenades, missiles, explosives, and special tank ammuni-
tion.
Electro-Vox Warfare
Requiring an in-depth knowledge of the ins and outs of battlefield com-
munication such as broadcast frequencies, electronic attack, cryptogra-
phy, power generation, maintenance, and the dizzying array of communi-
cations gear fielded across the galaxy, electronic warfare is typically the
purview of Operators, Tech-Priest Transmechanics, and the occasional
astute and tech-savvy Guardsman. No matter where they fight, these
Guardsmen are equipped with some of the most sophisticated listening
and broadcasting equipment issued by the Departmento Munitorum.
Cost: 4 Points
Standard Kit: 1 Dataslate per Squad Member, 1 Microbead per Squad
Member, 1 Trade Tools (Technomat) per Squad Member, 2 Auspices per
Squad, 2 Static Generators per Squad, 1 Vox-Caster per Squad, 1 Signal
Jammer per Squad.
Forward Observation
Forward Observers use stealth, speed, and knowledge of navigation and
survival to observe the enemy and call in air strikes, orbital bombard-
ment, or artillery barrages. This unit excels in directing indirect fire, and
their special load-out helps them ensure their colleagues in the air and
behind the lines hit what they are aiming for.
Cost: 4 Points
Standard Kit: 1 pair of magnoculars per Squad Member, 1 chameleoline
cloak per Squad Member, 1 handheld targeter per Squad Member, and 2
pict recorders per Squad, 1 Vox-Caster per Squad.
Hazardous Environment Equipment
The many battlefields of the galaxy offer little in the way of safety,
with even the very air of it being hazardous to the human body. Some
regiments are trained and equipped with the necessary gear to wage war
where even the basic functions of life would be an impossibility.
Cost: 1 Point
Standard Kit: 1 Respirator per Squad Member, for 1 additional Regi-
ment Point they may instead replace their Respirators with 1 Rebreather
and 3 air canisters per Squad Member -or- gain a Survival Suit. (For 3
Regiment Points they may gain 1 Rebreather with 3 air canisters and
Survival Suit.) Additionally if the Squad has a vehicle as part of their
Standard Kit the vehicle may, at the GM’s discretion, gain the Envi-
ro-Seal Trait.
Heavy Vehicles
The armouries of the Imperial Guard are replete with vehicles suited to
every battlefield of the galaxy, and when the escalation of arms and ar-
mour begin the Astra Militarum can bring such patterns of weapons and
vehicles to bear that Humanity’s enemies can only fall helpless before
them. Regiments in zones of desperate struggle and dangerous environs
can find themselves supplied with heavy patterns of transports and tanks,
such as Malcadors, Macharius variants, and even vehicles such as the
Crassus Armoured Transport.
Cost: 4 Points
Standard Kit: Replace the Regiment’s Standard Kit vehicle as follows:
• May trade a Leman Russ for a Malcador Battle Tank, Malcador De-
fender, or Malcador Valdor
• May trade a Basilisk for a Malcador Minotaur
70 2.3 Regiment Creation
• May trade a Hellhound for a Malcador Infernus
• May trade a Chimera for a Malcador Dracosan
• May trade an Atlas for a Malcador Hercules
• May trade a Leman Russ for a Macharius Heavy Tank, Macharius Van-
quisher, Macharius Vulcan, or a Macharius Omega
• May trade a Basilisk for a Praetor Armoured Assault Launcher or
Dominus
• May trade a Chimera for a Crassus Armoured Assault Transport
Reliquary
For truly pious regiments, there is no greater honour than to carry a holy
reliquary into battle. While most often seen amongst shrine world regi-
ments, Ecclesiarchy support elements attached to other regiments might
sometimes arrange for the presence of a reliquary to inspire the troops or
in recognition of their righteousness on the battlefield.
Cost: 2 Point
Standard Kit: One reliquary per squad. The reliquary might take any
number of forms, from a simple wooden box to an elaborate triptych
or golden sarcophagus. What is important however, is the reliquary’s
contents—either some portion of the bodily remains of a saint or another
object of great religious significance for the worshipers of the Emperor.
Depending on the reliquary’s size, it might take only a single person to
carry, or five or more, but typically two characters (including Comrades)
must carry it. As long as the reliquary remains in the Squad’s possession,
all Squad Members gain a +10 bonus to Willpower Tests and count as
possessing the Adamantium Faith Talent. In addition, the Squad Mem-
bers reduce all Corruption Points gained by 1 to a minimum of 1.
Sabre Battery
A favorite of line infantry regiments, regiments specializing in an-
ti-aircraft work, and elite regiments with low numbers, Sabre Defence
Platforms allow a single Guardsman to man two or more heavy weapons,
and even engage aerial targets. Such platforms are also sometimes used
by artillery regiments, siege regiments, and others likely to remain sta-
tionary, as the platforms are immobile once set up, and dismantling them
is a time-consuming affair. This lack of mobility means that Guardsmen
issued with Sabres are expected to defend key objectives, holding their
ground against all odds with no option for retreat. In these cases, the
issuing of Sabre Defence Platforms is seen not so much as a blessing as a
death sentence.
Cost: 3 Points
Standard Kit: One Sabre Defence Platform per Squad.
Scavengers
Some regard the strict rationing, draconian regulations, and complex
bureaucracy of the Departmento Munitorum as needless restrictions
upon the capabilities of the Imperial Guard. Others seek personal gain, or
simply steal out of habit or necessity. Whatever the reason, the regiment
is populated with those who steal and scavenge additional equipment
from the battlefield.
Cost: 1 Points
Standard Kit: The regiment may choose to gain a +10 bonus on any
Acquisition Test. However, on any test where this bonus is used, if any
doubles are rolled (22, 33, 44, etc.) whether the Test was a success or
a failure, then the scavenging and stealing attracts unwanted attention
from higher authorities within the Imperial Guard or the Departmento
Munitorum.